ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Framber Valdez was back on the mound for Houston on Sunday with César Salazar not in the lineup in the left-hander's first start since crossing up his catcher and hitting him in the chest with a pitch in an incident that was perceived as intentional .

Valdez was pitching on regular rest against the Texas Rangers after the Astros decided to give Luis Garcia more time to recover following the right-hander's first start in more than two years coming off Tommy John elbow surgery.

Valdez threw a 92.8 mph sinker on his second pitch after giving up a grand slam to Trent Grisham in a 7-1 loss to the New York Yankees on Tuesday.

Salazar moved his glove downward after the pitch was thrown, an indication he was expecting a pitch with less velocity and more break. The ba

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