Astros Caught in New Controversy After Player Hits Teammate

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00:00Astros caught a new controversy after player hits teammate.

00:04The Houston Astros are back in the spotlight, and not for the reasons they'd prefer.

00:09On Tuesday night, left-hander Frambois Valdez found himself at the center of a bizarre and

00:14unsettling scene when he appeared to intentionally hit his own catcher, Cesar Salazar, with a 93

00:19mile-per-hour sinker just moments after giving up a grand slam to Yankees outfielder Trent Grisham.

00:25The sequence unfolded after a clear miscommunication on the mound.

00:29Salazar reportedly asked Valdez to step off when the two couldn't agree on a pitch call.

00:34Valdez didn't step off, Grisham teed off, and suddenly the Yankees were up 6-0.

00:40Two pitches later, Salazar took a fastball square to the chest.

00:44His reaction, a long, sharp look back at Valdez, set social media ablaze with speculation that

00:50the pitch wasn't an accident.

00:52Both men denied foul play afterward.

00:54Valdez insisted he simply got crossed up, while Salazar tried to downplay the incident.

01:01Fans weren't buying it, though, noting Valdez's icy stare after the beaning and Salazar's

01:06clear frustration as he picked himself up.

01:08By Wednesday morning, the fallout was in full swing.

01:12Valdez's agent, Ulysses Cabrera, blasted the idea that his client would intentionally injure

01:17a teammate, calling it preposterous and a complete lack of respect.

01:22Cabrera insisted Valdez's reputation speaks for itself.

01:27The tone was more measured inside the Astros' front office.

01:30General manager Dana Brown admitted the grand slam may have rattled Valdez and made him so

01:35angry he couldn't see straight.

01:38Still, he stressed the pitcher and catcher had talked it out post-game.

01:41They squashed it, Brown said.

01:44Manager Joe Espada also stepped in, urging fans and media alike to get past this and go

01:49back to just baseball, while dismissing most of the speculation swirling online.