Chris Sale reaches 2,500 strikeouts, Braves beat Phillies 9-3 for a doubleheader split

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Chris Sale became the fastest pitcher to reach 2,500 strikeouts, pitched six scoreless innings and the Atlanta Braves beat the Philadelphia Phillies 9-3 on Thursday night to split a doubleheader.

The Phillies won the afternoon game 5-4.

Sale (3-3) struck out Edmundo Sosa in the sixth inning for his eighth strikeout, to reach the milestone. He did it in 2,026 innings, surpassing the record of 2,107 2/3 set by Randy Johnson.

Sale became the 40th pitcher in major league history to reach 2.500 strikeouts and joined Clayton Kershaw, Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer as the only active pitchers to have reached that plateau.

Sosa was the last hitter Sale faced. He allowed just two hits in six shutout innings.

Austin Riley had a double, a homer, and four RBIs, Ozzie Albies homered and drove in three, and Luke Williams had a pair of RBIs for the Braves, who snapped a three-game losing skid.

Zack Wheeler (6-2) allowed six runs in 5 1/3 innings for the Phillies, who lost for just the second time in their last 13 games.

After the game, the Phillies acquired left-hander Josh Walker from Toronto for cash considerations. Walker goes on the Phillies' 40-man roster, but will be assigned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley.

Sale loaded the bases in the fifth inning on two walks and a hit batter, but got out of it by getting Alec Bohm to ground out to Williams to end the threat.

Albies' homer, his sixth of the season, extended his hitting streak to 14 games.

RHP Grant Holmes (3-3, 3.68 ERA) is scheduled to start for the Braves when they open a three-game series at home against Boston on Friday.

Philadelphia will turn to RHP Taijuan Walker (2-3, 2.97) in the first game of a weekend home series against Milwaukee. RHP Quinn Priester (1-2, 4.23) is slated to start for the Brewers.

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Atlanta Braves' Alex Verdugo, right, and Ozzie Albies celebrate after the Braves won the second baseball game of a doubleheader against the Philadelphia Phillies Thursday, May 29, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Atlanta Braves shortstop Luke Williams throws to first base after fielding a single by Philadelphia Phillies' Kyle Schwarber during the eighth inning in the second baseball game of a doubleheader Thursday, May 29, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Atlanta Braves' Drake Baldwin, left, and Raisel Iglesias celebrate after the Braves won the second baseball game of a doubleheader against the Philadelphia Phillies Thursday, May 29, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

Atlanta Braves' Chris Sale pitches during the first inning in the second baseball game of a doubleheader against the Atlanta Braves Thursday, May 29, 2025, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. forces in the Caribbean Sea have seized another sanctioned oil tanker the Trump administration says has ties to Venezuela, coming as part of a broader U.S. effort to take control of the South American country’s oil.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote Thursday on social media, “Motor Tanker Veronica had previously passed through Venezuelan waters, and was operating in defiance of President Trump’s established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean.”

A social media post from U.S. Southern Command on the capture said that Marines and sailors launched from the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford to make the capture while Noem’s post noted that, like in previous raids, a U.S. Coast Guard tactical team conducted the boarding and seizure.

Noem posted a brief video that appeared to show part of the ship’s capture. The black-and-white footage showed helicopters hovering over the deck of a merchant vessel while armed troops dropped down on the deck by rope.

The Veronica is the sixth tanker that has been seized by U.S. forces as part of the effort by President Donald Trump’s administration to control the production, refining and global distribution of Venezuela’s oil products, and the fourth since the U.S. ouster of Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro in a surprise nighttime raid almost two weeks ago.

Noem, in her social media post, said that the raid was carried out with “close coordination with our colleagues” in the military as well as the State and Justice departments.

“Our heroic Coast Guard men and women once again ensured a flawlessly executed operation, in accordance with international law,” Noem added.

This story has been corrected to show the Veronica is the fourth, not the third, tanker seized by U.S. forces since Maduro's capture.

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks during a press conference, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks at a news conference at Harry Reid International Airport, Nov. 22, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ronda Churchill, File)