HOUSTON — With the bases loaded and two outs in the fifth inning on Tuesday night, Astros starter Framber Valdez was determined to throw a sinker to Yankees outfielder Trent Grisham, even though catcher César Salazar had called for a curveball via the PitchCom on-field communication device.
Grisham crushed the 1-0 sinker from Valdez and sent it into the Crawford Boxes for a grand slam that sent the Yankees on their way to a 7-1 win over the Astros, who remained three games ahead of the second-place Mariners in the American League West race. That was one of two homers allowed by Valdez, who gave up six runs in five innings.
Two pitches after the grand slam, Valdez struck Salazar in the chest protector with another sinker with Anthony Volpe at the plate, a move which both pitcher and catcher later said wasn’t intentional. Again, Salazar wanted a curveball, but a communication mistake caused the catcher to take a sinker in the chest that he wasn’t prepared to catch.
“I called for that pitch, I threw it, and we got crossed up,” Valdez said through interpreter Otto Loor. “When we got down to the dugout, I excused myself with [Salazar] and I said sorry to him and I take full responsibility for that.”
When asked how he could call for a pitch though Salazar was pushing the buttons on the PitchCom, Valdez said, “It wasn’t necessary that I called it. It was just the pitch I had in mind. He called for a curveball, but I was already in mind that I was going to throw a sinker so that’s what I threw and that’s what happened.”
Valdez was seen talking emphatically in Spanish with Salazar at his locker postgame and said he later spoke with manager Joe Espada in his office about the incident, too.
“He’s my manager,” Valdez said. “Of course, I’m going to talk to him. Stuff happens. I would never want to hurt somebody on purpose, but it’s stuff that happened and we were able to talk through it. We’re good.”
Diaz had caught 23 of Valdez’s previous 26 starts this year, but was in the lineup at designated hitter Tuesday. Salazar has caught both of Valdez’s starts since backup catcher Victor Caratini has been on the injured list with a concussion, including Wednesday when he threw seven scoreless innings against the Rockies.
Salazar said he has a really good relationship with Valdez and that no one was able to hear the PitchCom voice on the pitch to Volpe because the ballpark was still buzzing following the grand slam.
“It was a big spot for the Yankees,” Salazar said. “The stadium was loud and I thought I pressed the button, but I pressed the wrong button and I was expecting another pitch, but that was it. I pressed the wrong button and yeah, that’s what it was.”
Said Valdez, “He’s my teammate. He’s always here with me. I don’t want to ever cause any harm to my teammates, so it was something I excused myself with and I crossed up by mistake, and I hit him by mistake.”
Prior to the pitch Grisham hit for a grand slam, Salazar was waving his hands to try to get Valdez to step off the mound.
“I wanted him to step off because we were going through some pitches,” Salazar said. “Until I got the pitch right, I thought we had less time than we actually did and that’s the pitch we wanted, and obviously he put a good swing on it.”
Only one of the nine homers allowed by Valdez entering the game came against a lefty, but both the long balls he surrendered Tuesday were to a lefty. Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit a two-run homer in the second inning and Grisham’s fifth-inning slam made it 6-0. Chisholm added a solo homer in the eighth off lefty reliever Steven Okert.
“Just kind of left those pitches in the middle of the plate,” Espada said. “Stuff was good early. Just a few mistakes, and if you make mistakes against that team, they’re known for their power and their ability to work the count and get walks. I thought today his stuff wasn’t working out as well as his previous start.”
