BALTIMORE (AP) In his trying first season as the Orioles' manager, Brandon Hyde was not the least bit concerned about his team tying a dubious record on a night it cruised to an easy win.

Baltimore matched a major league mark by allowing its 258th homer this season, but the Orioles hit four of their own in an 8-1 victory over the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday night.

"We've given up a ton of homers," Hyde said. "What's the record ... 258? So, if it's 259 or 330, I don't care. I just want us to get better on the mound and obviously finish this year and go into next year trying to do a better job of keeping the ball in the ballpark and staying off the barrel, but home runs are up. ... We're all tired of seeing them and hopefully we can get better going forward."

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ST. LOUIS (AP) Mike Moustakas stopped short of calling Milwaukee's rain-shortened victory over the St. Louis Cardinals a must win.

"But it was pretty important," he said.

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) When slugger Khris Davis cleared the fences again at last, he gave it an animated trot around the bases complete with a salute approaching third before celebrating with his teammates back in the dugout.

When top pitching prospect A.J. Puk made his major league debut at last, the crowd went crazy and he felt the love. His teammates razzed him afterward and he assured everybody, "I can take it."

NEW YORK (AP) Needing a break, the New York Mets watched Cleveland hand it to them - Brad Hand, especially.

The All-Star reliever failed to cover first base on what could've been a game-ending double play, and moments later J.D. Davis lined an RBI single that capped a two-run rally in the 10th inning for a 4-3 win Wednesday night.

HOUSTON (AP) Justin Verlander pitched a two-hitter and lost, allowing homers to John Hicks and Ronny Rodriguez as the Detroit Tigers beat the Houston Astros 2-1 on Wednesday night.

Hicks led off the ninth with a tiebreaking blast to left-center field off Verlander (15-5), who leads the majors in strikeouts with 239 but ranks second in homers allowed with 33.

CHICAGO (AP) After watching the Cubs waste a couple of leads, Kris Bryant felt a loss was almost inevitable.

That quickly changed with one swing by the Chicago slugger.

LOS ANGELES (AP) Tied in extra innings at home, the Los Angeles Dodgers always expect to win.

"Who it's going to be is always a question," manager Dave Roberts said.

PITTSBURGH (AP) Patrick Corbin gave the Nationals another stellar outing in his first season in Washington.

Corbin, signed to a six-year, $140 million deal last winter, pitched eight scoreless innings to remain unbeaten in more than two months, and Asdrubal Cabrera had a three-run home run in a six-run third as the Nationals rolled to an 11-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday night.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) The Minnesota Twins have been in first place in the AL Central for all but 13 days this season, a perch the Chicago White Sox have been aiming for during this extended rebuilding project.

If they can make that big jump in 2020, Lucas Giolito will surely be a major factor.