Shin-Soo Choo will try to reach base for a 36th consecutive game

Saturday when the Texas Rangers continue their three-game series with the Minnesota Twins at Target Field.

The 35-year-old Rangers outfielder extended his streak to 35 games Friday night with a two-run homer against Fernando Romero.

His streak is the second longest in baseball this season Nate Davis Jersey , trailing only Philadelphia’s Odubel Herrera, who reached in 40 straight games. It’s the longest by a Rangers player since Mark Teixeira made it on base in 36 straight games in 2006.

Julio Franco holds the franchise record for a season with 46 straight games and Will Clark reached in 58 straight games at the end of the 1995 and start of 1996 seasons.

“I signed here to get on base, that’s why they brought me here,” Choo said. “When I’ve been healthy, I’ve gotten on base.”

Choo has been on a tear the last month, slashing .306/.468/.556 in his last 30 games, leading to his name being mentioned more frequently in trade rumors as the Rangers remain stuck in the American League West cellar despite winning a season-high six straight games after opening their series in Minnesota with an 8-1 victory Friday night.

While he is open to joining a contender for a stretch run, he knows the $50 million-plus owed to him through the 2020 season could make that difficult.

“Probably (my) contract is still (an obstacle),” Choo admitted earlier this week. “It’s probably not easy. I’m not 28 or 30 anymore.”

The Rangers turn to Yovani Gallardo (0-0 Tytus Howard Jersey , 15.95 ERA) to keep their streak going Saturday. It will be the second start of the season for Gallardo, who was cut by Milwaukee at the end of spring training, then allowed eight runs in 2 1/3 innings of relief before he was cut by Cincinnati and eventually signed a minor league deal with the Rangers.

Gallardo posted a 3.81 ERA in 10 starts for Triple-A Round Rock and was called up to face Colorado last Sunday. He allowed five runs and six hits while striking out four in a no-decision.

“I thought Yo threw the ball well,” Rangers manager Jeff Banister said. “It was similar to what we’ve seen in the past from Yo. He gave up a couple of soft hits, the walks are something not typical of Yo, but he managed the game and was able to give us some length.”

Gallardo is 4-2 with a 3.49 ERA in 11 career starts against Minnesota.

Jake Odorizzi (3-4, 3.48 ERA) starts Saturday for the Twins, who are looking to get back on track after losing two straight and scoring just three runs in those games combined.

Odorizzi is looking for a bounce-back outing himself after the Indians tagged him for four runs in five innings his last time out on Sunday.

He is 4-0 with 2.02 ERA in six career starts against the Rangers.

The Twins should get a bit of a boost Saturday as third baseman Eduardo Escobar is expected to return to the lineup. He sat out the series opener Friday after taking a pitch to an elbow a day earlier against the Boston Red Sox.

“I think probably a tad better than I expected,” Twins manager Paul Molitor said. “He’s sore and there’s some limitation because there’s still a lot of swelling there that impedes his ability probably to throw accurately Gary Jennings Jr. Jersey , as well as take his normal swing. But I’m fairly optimistic that in another, roughly, a little less than 24 hours, that he might be able to start a game tomorrow.”

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Philadelphia Eagles‘ recent struggles aren’t providing any comfort to the Los Angeles Rams.The NFC West champions have a few problems of their own for perhaps the first time this season.With three losses in their past five games, the Eagles (6-7) are facing an uphill challenge just to earn the opportunity to defend their Super Bowl title in the playoffs. Their offense can’t get rolling, the defense can’t defend the pass, and quarterback Carson Wentz’s fractured vertebra sits atop a bulging list of injury problems.Article continues below ...But the Eagles’ gritty performance in a 43-35 win at the Coliseum last season is still fresh in most football minds in Los Angeles. The Rams (11-2) would never take the champs lightly heading into the teams’ Sunday night showdown.“I still look at them like a Super Bowl-caliber team,” Rams receiver Robert Woods said. “Still the defending champs. We get a chance to play them in prime time. We get to play at home. We get to play well and redeem ourselves from last week.”The Rams can’t spend any time thinking about the Eagles’ woes, either. Los Angeles is coming off a dispiriting 15-6 loss in chilly Chicago during which it failed to score a touchdown for the first time in coach Sean McVay’s tenure.McVay has never lost consecutive games Ugo Amadi Jersey , and no team has beaten the Rams twice during his two seasons — but Philadelphia has a chance to do both. The coach has no trouble getting his players’ attention this week with the combination of their second loss and a visit from the champs.Wentz did not practice Wednesday or Thursday and on Saturday was declared out for the Rams game. Wentz’s second NFL season ended at the Coliseum a year ago when he tore a ligament in his left knee, but Nick Foles relieved him and led the Eagles to that win over his former franchise, clinching the NFC East in the process.Along with his Super Bowl MVP award, Foles always has motivation against the Rams: He started 11 games for the team in St. Louis in 2015, but he asked to leave after the Rams drafted Jared Goff in the ensuing spring.“Doesn’t affect much, because Carson is a great football player, but they also were able to win a Super Bowl with Nick playing really high-level football,” McVay said.More things to watch when Mike Trout’s favorite team visits him in Southern California:DEFENDING HOMEA huge contingent of Eagles fans undoubtedly will turn out at the Coliseum, but the Rams are finally building a home-field advantage that everyone felt during their 54-51 win over the Chiefs last month. The Rams are 6-0 at the Coliseum this season after going 4-11 in their temporary arena during the first two years.HARD TO SUBOne of the overlooked challenges for defenses that have to face the Rams and their high-powered offense is the difficulty in trying to rotate defensive players into the game because Los Angeles uses the same personnel group — three receivers Devin White Jersey , one tight end, one running back — almost the entire game.“The Rams don’t substitute very often,” Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz said. “Even in short yardage and goal line, they’re in the same personnel group. It does make it a little bit more difficult to sub. We’re going to have to be surgical with our substitutions, particularly on third down.”The Eagles struggled against the Saints, who also use an up-tempo offense. New Orleans beat Philadelphia 48-7 last month.“We didn’t react very well to it against the Saints. That had to do with a lot of the big plays we gave up in that game,” Schwartz said. “But we have a little bit more experience with it now. We have to do better.”GURLEY’S GAMETodd Gurley’s 28 yards rushing in Chicago were his fewest since his rookie season in 2015, and Dallas’ Ezekiel Elliott edged in front of him in the NFL rushing race . McVay blamed himself for not getting the ball into the hands of his franchise running back more often, and he seems determined to rectify that oversight.Rather than testing Fletcher Cox and the Eagles’ statistically stout run defense L.J. Collier Jersey , the Rams may be tempted to throw excessively against the Eagles’ injury-riddled secondary, which likely means more targets for Gurley in the passing game.SPREADING IT AROUNDSince receiver Golden Tate arrived in Philadelphia, coaches have struggled to incorporate him into the offense. Tate only had one catch last week and played just 20 snaps.The offense has various options, including tight ends Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert and receivers Alshon Jeffery and Nelson Agholor.But the Eagles traded a third-round pick for Tate, so he was expected to be a major part of the game plan each week.“It’s just trying to find the right balance and get those guys in the right position so that they can make the plays we need to help us win,” offensive coordinator Mike Groh said.