Marcus Semien homers to break 8th

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Marcus Semien homered to break an eighth-inning tie, helping the Rangers beat the Cincinnati Reds 2-1 on Friday night.

Semien pulled a 1-1 fastball from Lucas Sims (1-1) down the line in left.

Kirby Yates got his fourth save in four chances, pitching a scoreless ninth after José Leclerc (2-2) retired all three batters in the eighth in his fifth consecutive scoreless appearance.

Evan Carter pulled the Rangers even at 1, leading off the second with a home run to right off starter Graham Ashcraft.

The Reds took a 1-0 lead in the first inning, Elly De La Cruz and Spencer Steer drew one-out walks against Nathan Eovaldi. De La Cruz advanced to third base on Christian Encarnacion-Strand’s fly out to right. On the first pitch to Tyler Stephenson, Steer broke for second, Jonah Heim’s throw sailed into center field and De La Cruz was credited with stealing home.