Seattle Mariners third baseman Brendan Donovan missed the series opener against the Houston Astros due to an illness. The team returned to T-Mobile Park after a 1-5 road trip, hoping for an offensive boost from their most consistent hitter. Manager Dan Wilson said Donovan is just a little under the weather.
The Mariners opened a four-game series against the Astros at T-Mobile Park on Friday night without Donovan in the starting lineup. He had been recovering from an illness that lingered from their recent series in Texas. Leo Rivas took over at third base and batted ninth, while J.P. Crawford shifted to the leadoff spot against right-hander Tatsuya Imai. Dan Wilson explained, “A little bit under the weather at this point. And so B.D. is not able to get in there today.” The team does not expect Donovan to miss much time, as he recently returned from minor groin discomfort in Anaheim. Donovan has provided a spark to Seattle's struggling offense, hitting .316/.422/.605 with a 1.027 OPS over 45 plate appearances in 11 games since joining the Mariners. The club acquired him from St. Louis in a three-team trade on Feb. 2 and moved him to third base full-time. Despite his strong bat, Seattle ranks last in the majors with a .184/.280/.301 slash line and .581 OPS entering the game. Defensively, Donovan leads the team with four errors and has shown some adjustment issues at the position. In Wednesday's 3-0 loss to the Texas Rangers, a throwing error by Donovan allowed Danny Jansen to reach base and later score. Donovan reflected in Arlington, “It’s not something you can run from. You’ve just got to keep preparing and understand I’m not playing to the standard that I set for myself, defensively... My biggest thing is I just want to help the team win.” He had planned to work with infield coach Perry Hill upon returning to Seattle, but the illness delayed those efforts.
