Houston Astros starter Framber Valdez had a rough outing against the New York Yankees in their series opener at Minute Maid Park on Tuesday night. While his command was off, Valdez made the headlines after a controversial incident involving Astros catcher Cesar Salazar.With the bases loaded and the Yankees leading 2-0 in the top of the fifth inning, Salazar signalled Valdez to step off the mound. However, Valdez ignored the call from his catcher and threw a sinker that was muscled over the wall for a grand slam.In the next at-bat, Salazar seemingly positioned himself for an offspeed variation, but Valdez dished a 93 mph fastball instead, drilling the Astros catcher on the chest. Salazar was perplexed by the pitch as he stared at Valdez, who turned around without making eye contact.The clip of the incident raised speculations of Valdez intentionally crossing up his catcher. However, the Astros ace denied those claims and said he apologized to his catcher after the game.“It was a pitch I wanted to throw. I called for that pitch. I wasn’t able to locate it,” Valdez said through an interpreter. “Then afterwards, we just got crossed up. Afterwards, I told him I was sorry.”Asrros catcher Cesar Salazar owns up to deny rift with ace Framber ValdezAstros catcher Cesar Salazar, who was seemingly miffed by his ace at home plate, also dismissed rumors of an intensional cross up by Framber Valdez, claiming it a misunderstanding."There was a good amount of Yankees fans, so it was pretty loud after the grand slam," Salazar said. "Maybe my pitch count wasn't in the right spot, so I pressed the wrong button, you know."Framber Valdez had one of the worst games of the season, conceding six earned runs along with eight hits in five innings before being taken off the mound.The Yankees cashed in on Valdez's erratic performance, winning the series opener 7-1 to keep themselves 2.5 games behind the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League East.