After a sequence that raised several questions during the Houston Astros’ 7-1 loss to the New York Yankees, left-hander Framber Valdez surrendered a grand slam to Trent Grisham. On the very next batter, catcher César Salazar was struck by a pitch that clearly caught him off guard.

The play immediately fueled speculation about whether Valdez had intentionally crossed up his catcher. Video appeared to show Salazar calling for an offspeed pitch before a 93-mph sinker hit him square in the chest protector. Instead of showing concern or apologizing, Valdez turned away, a reaction that only heightened doubts about his intent.

Former MLB catcher Erik Kratz was blunt in his assessment. Appearing on Foul Territory, he dismissed the idea that it was a simple miscommunication.

“This was an intentional pitch. Come at me, whoever wants to come at me. I've never seen it. And if you tell me if you're a baseball player and you think this was not intentional, please talk to me,” Kratz stated.

Kratz expanded on his position by pointing to the timing of the incident and the reactions of both Valdez and Salazar. He ruled out crowd noise or communication errors, saying the atmosphere had already settled down following the grand slam. For him, the body language on the field suggested intent, sparking further debate among fans and analysts.

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“The Yankee fans that were in Houston, which they're not more Yankee fans in Houston than there are Astro fans, they've probably settled down at this point. The Grand Slam, Grisham ran around the bases. One of the excuses of one of the people was it was loud, it was loud, it was hard to hear. I never play with the Pitchcom, but I tried it out because it was coming into the game, and then I quit. So I never got to use it. Yeah, I get it if it's loud, if it's loud like game seven of the World Series, game seven, two outs l, ike, oh, I can't hear. No, no, no, no,” he said.

Valdez, however, presented a very different version after the game.

“It was a pitch [to Grisham] I wanted to throw. I called for that pitch. I wasn't able to locate it,” he said, according to CBS Sports.

Manager Joe Espada stepped in by bringing both Valdez and Salazar into his office after the game. While Houston maintained its lead in the American League West, the incident quickly became one of the most talked-about storylines surrounding the team, driven by Kratz’s direct comments and Valdez’s firm denial.