Donovan (illness) out of Mariners lineup for series opener vs. Astros

SEATTLE -- Looking for a jolt to their offense after a 1-5 road trip, the Mariners were without their most consistent hitter when they returned to T-Mobile Park on Friday night.

Third baseman Brendan Donovan was out of Seattle’s starting lineup to begin a four-game series vs. the Astros, recovering from an illness that had lingered from the club’s most recent series at Texas.

Donovan, who’d just worked back from minor groin discomfort last weekend in Anaheim, is not expected to be sidelined long.

“A little bit under the weather at this point,” Mariners manager Dan Wilson said. “And so B.D. is not able to get in there today.”

In Donovan’s stead, Leo Rivas started at third base and batted ninth, while J.P. Crawford moved to Donovan’s spot atop the lineup against right-hander Tatsuya Imai.

The timing wasn’t ideal for an offense that hasn’t had much going -- other than Donovan, who’s slashed .316/.422/.605 (1.027 OPS) over 45 plate appearances across 11 games with his new club. Overall, however, the Mariners entered Friday with league-worsts across every slash line category, for a collective clip of .184/.280/.301 (.581 OPS).

Their defense has also had its struggles, including a few hiccups from Donovan.

After transitioning more full-time to third base after Seattle acquired him from St. Louis in a three-team trade on Feb. 2, Donovan has been on the hook for a team-worst four errors. But more broadly, he’s had moments where the move hasn’t looked as seamless.

“It’s not something you can run from,” Donovan told reporters in Arlington. “You’ve just got to keep preparing and understand I’m not playing to the standard that I set for myself, defensively and what I have done the last few years. That’s frustrating. My biggest thing is I just want to help the team win, and I don’t feel like I’m doing a very good job of that over there, so I’ll continue to prepare.”

In Wednesday’s 3-0 loss to the Rangers, his back leg buckled on a throw that allowed Danny Jansen to reach base, and Jansen would later score on a fielder’s choice error by first baseman Connor Joe. With the Mariners’ bats being blanked, those moments wound up being the difference in the loss that secured a sweep.

Donovan told reporters that he was eager to get back to Seattle to continue harnessing the position with infield coach Perry Hill -- presumably, before Friday’s game. But the illness he’s looking to shake put those plans on hold for at least a day.