Acce s the Yankees beat like never before Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting Nolan Ryan Jersey with Greg Joyce about the inside buzz on the Yankees. An Astros ace is accused of a bush-league maneuver and this one doesnt involve a trash can. Ex-MLB pitcher Dallas Braden and plenty of others allege that Houston lefty Framber Valdez intentionally plunked his catcher, Cesar Salazar, with a pitch after some confusion moments after allowing the game-changing grand slam to Trent Grisham in the . (One hundred percent) intentional, Braden tweeted above a clip of the controversial pitch. Absolute trash behavior. Valdez denied through a translator that he intentionally plunked his catcher and added that he apologized to Salazar, who said he . It was not intentional, . This one had to hurt. @DALLASBRADEN209/X 100% intentional. Absolute trash behavior. Dallas Braden (@DALLASBRADEN209) I called for a sinker, and thats the pitch I wanted. There was a lot of noise and thats what I thought he wanted me to throw, but, no, it was not intentional. The supposed inflection point for this alleged teammate-on-teammate crime happened in the fifth inning with Grisham at the plate in a 2-0 game with the bases loaded and two outs. Explore More As Valdez readied to throw his 1-0 pitch, it appeared he shook his head as Braden noted in a breakdown and Salazar then motioned for him to step off the mound. Valdez, though, committed to the pitch later saying that he specifically called that offering and threw a 96-mph sinker that Grisham went the other way with for a game-changing grand slam. Salazar motions for Valdez to step off. @DALLASBRADEN209/X Trent Grisham hit a grand slam that gave the Yankees a 6-0 lead. AP The lefty appeared quite ticked after allowing the homer. Two pitches later, Valdez fired a pitch that Salazar clearly did not expect, and it hit off his protectors chest in a jarring moment, with the ball careening off the catcher. Valdez is quite upset after the grand slam. @DALLASBRADEN209/X Braden noted this should not happen due to PitchCom, which allows the two to be on the same page. This is the era of PitchCom, Braden said. You can hear whats coming, you know whats coming, if you have any second gue ses, you step off. When asked about how he communicated to Salazar that he wanted the sinker, Valdez said, It wasnt nece sary, before later noting that he did not hear the curveball choice due to the noise. Salazar walks toward his catcher. @DALLASBRADEN209/X Salazar stares at his pitcher. @DALLASBRADEN209/X That was just the pitch that I had in mind, Valdez said. He called for a curveball, but I was already in mind that I was going to throw a sinker. Thats what I threw, so thats what happened. Valdez did not help himself by immediately turning his back after the pitch hit his catcher, not even checking to see if he was OK. Salazar notably started at Valdez for a few moments after the pitch before pushing his mask upward and walking toward Valdez before throwing the ball to him. Valdez emphatically spoke in Spanish with Salazar in the clubhouse after the game, . We just got cro sed up, Valdez said through a translator. I called for that pitch, I threw it and we got cro sed up. When we went down to the dugout, I excused myself with him and I said sorry to him and I take full responsibility for that. Valdez (r) and Salazar (l) speaking Tuesday. Troy Taormina-Imagn Images Framber Valdez had a rough night. AP Salazar didnt accuse Valdez of any bad behavior, instead noting how many Yankees fans invaded Daikin Park for the important series. No, didnt get cro sed up, . There was a good amount of Yankees fans, so it was pretty loud after the grand slam. Maybe my PitchCom wasnt in the right spot, I pre sed the wrong button, ya know? Tuesdays outing marked yet another poor showing from the lefty ace while he heads toward free agency, with Valdez now 1-4 with a 5.66 ERA in his last seven starts. Hes 12-8 with a 3.40 ERA spanning 27 starts this season. The Astros still lead the Mariners by three games in the AL West and occupy the No. 3 seed in the AL. Heat of the moment got to us, Salazar said. He apologized after, hes great. There wasnt anything bad about it, just pre sed the wrong button and I was expecting another pitch. Jason Heyward Jersey