Alcantara outlasts Skubal, who leaves early, in Marlins' 8-2 win over Tigers

MIAMI (AP) — Sandy Alcantara pitched seven innings of two-run ball to outlast Detroit ace Tarik Skubal, who exited early after experiencing left side tightness, in the Miami Marlins’ 8-2 win over the Tigers on Friday night.

Alcantara (9-12) allowed four hits and struck out eight in the matchup of Cy Young Award winners. The 2022 NL Cy Young Award winner matched a season-high seven innings for the sixth time.

Skubal (13-5) struggled after a recent string of dominant outings. He gave up four runs and four hits before he left with one out in the fourth. The reigning AL Cy Young Award winner had allowed one earned run over his previous 27 1/3 innings.

Tigers shortstop Javier Báez left after he fouled off a pitch that struck near his left eye during an at-bat in the second inning. Báez swung at a 90 mph changeup from Alcantara and the ball first deflected off the brim of his helmet before making contact near his eye.

Rookie Agustín Ramírez, Heriberto Hernández and Joey Wiemer homered for the Marlins, who won their third straight.

Ramírez put Miami on the board with a solo shot in the first. He drove Skubal’s fastball into the left-field seats for his 20th homer.

Hernández connected off Skubal to lead off the second and Javier Sanoja added an RBI fielder’s choice in the second to make it 3-0.

After Riley Greene’s solo homer in the fourth narrowed the deficit for Detroit, Miami responded with Sanoja’s two-run double.

Wiemer helped expand the Marlins’ lead with a two-run homer against reliever Chris Paddack in the sixth.

It was the Marlins’ first three-game win streak since a three-game home sweep of the New York Yankees Aug. 1-3 that got them to 55-55.

RHP Charlie Morton (7-13, 4.85 ERA) will start for the Tigers on Saturday against RHP Jansen Junk (6-3, 4.48) of the Marlins.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Detroit Tigers' Riley Greene (31) is congratulated in the dugout after hitting a solo home run during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Friday, Sept. 12, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Miami Marlins' Eric Wagaman, left, watches after hitting a single during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers, Friday, Sept. 12, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Detroit Tigers starting pitcher Tarik Skubal (29) stands on the mound after giving up a home run and a double during the second inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Friday, Sept. 12, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Miami Marlins starting pitcher Sandy Alcantara throws during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Detroit Tigers, Friday, Sept. 12, 2025, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

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)