ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — One swing of the bat was more than enough for Mike Trout to deliver a reminder about his impact on baseball.
The Angels star hit a massive homer to center field on Sunday to move past 1,000 RBIs in his career, a two-run shot that helped Los Angeles beat the Seattle Mariners 4-1.
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Los Angeles Angels' Mike Trout reacts after hitting a foul ball during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Seattle Mariners, Sunday, July 27, 2025, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/William Liang)
Los Angeles Angels' Mike Trout, center, is greeted by teammates after hitting a home run during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Seattle Mariners, Sunday, July 27, 2025, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/William Liang)
Los Angeles Angels' Mike Trout runs after hitting a home run during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Seattle Mariners, Sunday, July 27, 2025, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/William Liang)
Los Angeles Angels' Mike Trout, center, gestures after hitting a home run during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Seattle Mariners, Sunday, July 27, 2025, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/William Liang)
“It takes your teammates to get on base, and after the game, that was one of the things I pointed out,” Trout said of a clubhouse toast that included whiskey and words of appreciation. “None of this is possible without my teammates. It’s been fun.”
Now with 1,001 RBIs, another Trout milestone is around the corner as the three-time American League MVP reached 397 home runs with his fifth-inning drive that traveled an estimated 443 feet.
“He couldn’t have drawn it up any better, putting a big-time blast like that to center field,” said Jo Adell, Trout's successor in center. “I’m honored to be able to start my career here and play with him and just see the evolution of him.”
Trout has struggled to stay on the field in recent years, with a bone bruise in his left knee forcing him to miss a month this year. He has played designated hitter since his return after starting the season in right field.
He was batting just .200 with one home run in nine games since the All-Star break, but he showed Sunday he can still deliver after 1,598 games over 15 seasons.
“Every time we talk about Mike, even 75 percent of Mike is better than most people who have ever played the game,” Angels interim manager Ray Montgomery said. “He’s going to through ups and downs just like everybody else and his are more magnified because of who he is.”
It was a day of exploits for the Angels’ veterans as Kyle Hendricks picked up win No. 103 by allowing two hits over six-plus innings and Kenley Jansen pitched the ninth for his 465th save.
Trout has 19 homers, his most since hitting 40 in 2022. He also joined Garrett Anderson and Tim Salmon as the only players to record their first 1,000 RBIs exclusively with the Angels.
“When guys are here that long and what they mean to the club, it’s pretty special to be in that group,” Trout said of Anderson and Salmon, who now work with the Angels' broadcast team. “They had unbelievable careers in an Angels uniform and when you’re in the same conversation with them, it’s pretty special.”
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Los Angeles Angels' Mike Trout reacts after hitting a foul ball during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Seattle Mariners, Sunday, July 27, 2025, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/William Liang)
Los Angeles Angels' Mike Trout, center, is greeted by teammates after hitting a home run during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Seattle Mariners, Sunday, July 27, 2025, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/William Liang)
Los Angeles Angels' Mike Trout runs after hitting a home run during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Seattle Mariners, Sunday, July 27, 2025, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/William Liang)
Los Angeles Angels' Mike Trout, center, gestures after hitting a home run during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Seattle Mariners, Sunday, July 27, 2025, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/William Liang)
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. forces in the Caribbean Sea have seized another sanctioned oil tanker that the Trump administration says has ties to Venezuela, part of a broader U.S. effort to take control of the South American country’s oil.
The U.S. Coast Guard boarded the tanker, named Veronica, early Thursday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote on social media. The ship had previously passed through Venezuelan waters and was operating in defiance of President Donald Trump’s "established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean,” she said.
U.S. Southern Command said Marines and sailors launched from the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford to take part in the operation alongside a Coast Guard tactical team, which Noem said conducted the boarding as in previous raids. The military said the ship was seized “without incident.”
Several U.S. government social media accounts posted brief videos that appeared to show various parts of the ship’s capture. Black-and-white footage showed at least four helicopters approaching the ship before hovering over the deck while armed troops dropped down by rope. At least nine people could be seen on the deck of the ship.
The Veronica is the sixth sanctioned tanker seized by U.S. forces as part of the effort by 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.
The Veronica last transmitted its location on Jan. 3 as being at anchor off the coast of Aruba, just north of Venezuela’s main oil terminal. According to the data it transmitted at the time, the ship was partially filled with crude.
Days later, the Veronica became one of at least 16 tankers that left the Venezuelan coast in contravention of the quarantine that U.S. forces have set up to block sanctioned ships, according to Samir Madani, the co-founder of TankerTrackers.com. He said his organization used satellite imagery and surface-level photos to document the ship movements.
The ship is currently listed as flying the flag of Guyana and is considered part of the shadow fleet that moves cargoes of oil in violation of U.S. sanctions.
According to its registration data, the ship also has been known as the Gallileo, owned and managed by a company in Russia. In addition, a tanker with the same registration number previously sailed under the name Pegas and was sanctioned by the Treasury Department for being associated with a Russian company moving cargoes of illicit oil.
As with prior posts about such raids, Noem and the military framed the seizure as part of an effort to enforce the law. Noem argued that the multiple captures show that “there is no outrunning or escaping American justice.”
Speaking to reporters at the White House later Thursday, Noem declined to say how many sanctioned oil tankers the U.S. is tracking or whether the government is keeping tabs on freighters beyond the Caribbean Sea.
“I can’t speak to the specifics of the operation, although we are watching the entire shadow fleet and how they’re moving,” she told reporters.
But other officials in Trump's Republican administration have made clear they see the actions as a way to generate cash as they seek to rebuild Venezuela’s battered oil industry and restore its economy.
Trump met with executives from oil companies last week to discuss his goal of investing $100 billion in Venezuela to repair and upgrade its oil production and distribution. His administration has said it expects to sell at least 30 million to 50 million barrels of sanctioned Venezuelan oil.
Associated Press writer Ben Finley contributed to this report.
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 and the ship also has been known as the Gallileo, not the Galileo.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
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)
