BALTIMORE (AP) — After finding himself in the middle of almost every significant play of the game, Ceddanne Rafaela concluded the night wearing a big smile in the middle of a jubilant Boston Red Sox clubhouse.
Rafaela failed to hold onto a blooper that provided Baltimore with its first run Wednesday night, then was in the middle of a misplay with fellow outfielder Jarren Duran that enabled the Orioles to take a 2-1 lead in the seventh inning.
Finally, with Boston three outs from defeat, it all turned around for Rafaela and the surging Red Sox.
After Duran hit a leadoff single in the ninth, Rafaela blasted a two-run homer to give Boston a 3-2 victory.
“Baseball is a beautiful game, right?” Rafaela said. “In baseball, you've got to keep going. If you don't keep going and try to help your team, you're not going to have this outcome.”
The Red Sox have had a lot of positive outcomes lately as they try to overtake first-place Toronto in the AL East. Boston has won six of seven and will seek to complete a four-game sweep of the skidding Orioles on Thursday afternoon.
Rafaela was the centerpiece of Boston's latest victory. He nearly snagged that sinking liner in the second inning, but the ball popped out of the diving center fielder's glove for a double.
In the seventh, Duran came from left field to chase a ball and converged with Rafaela. They looked at each other as the ball hit the base of the wall for an RBI double.
“It was a miscommunication," Rafaela said. “I thought he had it, and he thought I had it. I'm pretty sure it won't happen again.”
Fortunately for the Red Sox, that same duo teamed to produce the winning runs.
“I was just trying to get on base right there, like JD did,” Rafaela said. “We did a good job to let it go and fight for the win.”
Rafaela was batting .188 since the All-Star break before coming through with two hits, including his 15th homer.
“He was going through a hard time, but every time the team needs him he comes through,” Boston starter Brayan Bello said. “Tonight was an example of that."
Rafaela said he was just trying to make contact on the pitch from Keegan Akin, but acknowledged that he was thinking about the long ball.
“To be honest with you, I kind of felt it,” he said. “I was really confident right there.”
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB
Boston Red Sox center fielder Ceddanne Rafaela is unable to catch a fly ball hit by Baltimore Orioles' Dylan Beavers for an RBI double during the second inning of a baseball game, Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Boston Red Sox's Ceddanne Rafaela rounds the bases after hitting a two-run home run during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles, Wednesday, Aug. 27, 2025, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Boston Red Sox's Ceddanne Rafaela rounds the bases after hitting a two-run home run during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles, Wednesday, Aug. 27, 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)
