SEATTLE -- As the Mariners took the field for Kade Anderson's debut on Saturday afternoon, they did so with a last-minute and notable lineup change.
Brendan Donovan was scratched after being hit on the head with a baseball in the batting cages and was in the process of being evaluated.
Mariners manager Dan Wilson said postgame that he hadn’t had a chance to speak with the third baseman yet, but “according to the trainers, he’s feeling better. So we’ll see how he is in the morning.”
“I don't understand all the circumstances quite yet,” Wilson added, “but I understood that he got hit in the head down in the cages in his pregame work, and got hit pretty good. So that's all I know at this moment.”
In Donovan’s stead, Weston Wilson took over at third base, went 2-for-4 at the plate and sparked Seattle’s ninth-inning rally with a two-out double. Randy Arozarena took Donovan's place atop the order, homered on the very first pitch the Mariners saw and finished his night with a walk-off shot -- making him just the third player in history to do both in the same game.
Donovan, who was seen going through pregame infield drills, has been a game-changer for the Mariners since returning from his second stint on the injured list with a left groin strain.
Since being activated on Aug. 4, he’s slashed .283/.345/.340 (.684 OPS) over 58 plate appearances across 14 games. That came after he missed nearly three months with the injury, which he’s said was related to major offseason sports hernia surgery he underwent last October as a member of the Cardinals.
Overall, Donovan -- who was acquired just before Spring Training as the capstone piece to a roster with World Series aspirations -- has played in just 39 games this season.
In what could've been a precautionary measure to account for Donovan, infielder Patrick Wisdom was scratched from Triple-A Tacoma’s lineup, with the Rainiers playing in West Sacramento this week.
Meanwhile with the Rainiers, third baseman J.P. Crawford (left wrist inflammation) continued his rehab assignment with a three-run homer in the sixth inning, capping a 3-for-4 night and six frames on defense.
And Cooper Criswell (right shoulder strain) made his first rehab appearance, facing four batters and allowing a home run, a single and a walk.
Elsewhere on the injury front, Bryan Woo (right shoulder discomfort) will throw a bullpen on Sunday at T-Mobile Park. Wilson has said he does not anticipate that Woo will need a stint on the injured list, after leaving his most recent start early, last Sunday in Houston.
“That’s kind of going to be a big telltale for us,” Wilson said. “And at that point, we’ll be able to slot up the rotation and figure out where we’re going to go forward.”
Additionally, Matt Brash (right lat strain) threw his third bullpen session on Friday, with the next step being a live batting practice this coming week while the Mariners host the Phillies. From there, it’s possible that he could begin a rehab assignment. He’s been out since mid-June.