Astros' Framber Valdez Suspended Six Games for Hitting Red Sox's Trevor Story, Sparking Brawl

Houston Astros pitcher Framber Valdez struggled badly against the Boston Red Sox on Tuesday and hit Trevor Story with a 94-mph fastball, sparking a benches-clearing brawl.

Valdez took the loss in a 10-3 defeat and reached his boiling point in the fourth inning after Willson Contreras and Wilyer Abreu hit back-to-back homers that made the score 10-2. Major League Baseball suspended him for six games Wednesday.

Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy said he believed the pitch was intentional. "Yes, I do think it was intentional," Tracy said, according to the Boston Herald. "I thought it was weak, and I thought everybody saw it. Their side, our side, I think everybody saw it. And yeah, it was weak."

Valdez denied the accusation after the game. "It was not intentional. It was not on purpose. It might look like that, but it wasn't," he said through an interpreter. "I consider the ejection completely unfair given that, first of all, they should have given me a warning. And of course if it was on purpose, then I do it a second time or a third time, of course, I'm getting ejected."

NESN broadcaster Dave O'Brien criticized Valdez during the game. "That is weak," O'Brien said. "You give up three home runs, back-to-back shots, and then you drill Trevor Story."

Analyst Will Middlebrooks piled on. "You can't get them out, so you throw at them. What a joke. The one guy who caused it is hiding in the back," Middlebrooks said. He also referenced a prior incident when Valdez crossed up his own catcher, Cesar Salazar, after Salazar tried to call off a pitch that became a home run last season. "Well, let's just hope he doesn't cross up his catcher now that he's mad," Middlebrooks added.