BALTIMORE (AP) — Adley Rutschman doubled home the tiebreaking run in the bottom of the eighth inning, and the Baltimore Orioles completed a doubleheader sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays, 3-2 on Tuesday night.
With Gunnar Henderson on second and one out, Rutschman lifted a drive to right off Jeff Hoffman (6-4) that Nathan Lukes tried to catch against the big wall in right field at Camden Yards. Lukes reached for the ball and initially seemed unsure of where it ended up, only to find it down at his feet.
Andrew Kittredge (2-2) won in relief, and Corbin Martin worked out of a ninth-inning jam for his first career save. The last-place Orioles have dealt away several relievers recently — including Seranthony Domínguez, who was traded to Toronto between games of this doubleheader and pitched a scoreless seventh in the nightcap.
The Blue Jays had men on second and third against Martin with one out, but Lukes struck out looking and Bo Bichette went down swinging. Toronto has dropped four straight, and its lead over the New York Yankees atop the AL East is down to four games.
Baltimore won the opener 16-4.
Lukes and Myles Straw hit RBI grounders in the second and fourth for Toronto before Ryan O'Hearn tripled home a run for the Orioles in the bottom of the fourth. O'Hearn then scored on a grounder by Ramón Urías.
Blue Jays hitting coach David Popkins was ejected while Toronto was batting in the seventh.
Martin made it through the ninth despite throwing 14 balls and only eight strikes. His next-to-last pitch was a curveball in the dirt, but Rutschman was able to block it and prevent a game-tying wild pitch.
Bichette went 0 for 5 with three strikeouts and a double-play grounder.
The Orioles will try to sweep this four-game series when they send Dean Kremer (8-7) to the mound Wednesday against José Berríos (7-4).
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB
Toronto Blue Jays' Tyler Heineman (55) is forced out by Baltimore Orioles second baseman Jackson Holliday (7) at second base during the fourth inning in the second baseball game of a doubleheader, Tuesday, July 29, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Toronto Blue Jays relief pitcher Seranthony Dominguez, top, talks with Baltimore Orioles relief pitcher Yennier Cano, bottom, shortly after being traded, during the fourth inning in the second baseball game of a doubleheader, Tuesday, July 29, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Baltimore Orioles' Ryan O'Hearn (32) scores past Toronto Blue Jays catcher Tyler Heineman, right, on a groundout hit by Ramon Urias during the fourth inning in the second baseball game of a doubleheader, Tuesday, July 29, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
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)
