Mariners 3B Donovan day to day, out of lineup vs Rangers

Seattle Mariners third baseman Brendan Donovan is not in the lineup for Saturday’s game against the Texas Rangers after exiting Friday night’s series opener with tightness in his left hip.

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Mariners manager Dan Wilson said Donovan is “day to day” and that the discomfort stemmed from a throw he made from third base in Friday night’s game.

With Donovan out, utilityman Leo Rivas will start at third base and bat ninth for the Mariners on Saturday. Veteran shortstop J.P. Crawford will move up to the leadoff spot.

“We’re just kind of monitoring it and we’ll see how it goes,” Wilson said. “It’s a day-to-day situation at this point.”

After Friday night’s game, Wilson said Donovan’s hip tightness is unrelated to the right groin issue that caused him to miss two games against the Los Angeles Angels earlier this month.

Donovan also was held out of the starting lineup for two games against the Houston Astros last weekend, although he pinch-hit in the latter of those two contests.

Wilson said the Mariners want to take precaution with Donovan, given that he underwent sports hernia surgery this past offseason.

“It’s something that you have to closely monitor and keep watch on,” Wilson said. “It’s a big surgery, and he did a great job of getting through it and getting to spring training and the slow ramp-up at spring training.

“We’ll continue to make our adjustments as we go,” he added. “Maybe it’s a DH day here and there, maybe it’s some other things we look at. But right now, we’ll just see how things go.”

Donovan is batting .304 with three home runs, three doubles and a .954 OPS in 18 games this season. Seattle acquired the 25-year-old leadoff hitter from the St. Louis Cardinals in a three-team trade in February.

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The pitching matchup

Mariners right-hander George Kirby will face Rangers right-hander Nathan Eovaldi on Saturday in a matchup of former All-Stars.

It’ll be a rematch of the pitching matchup from Texas’ 3-2 win over Seattle on April 7 in Arlington. Kirby tossed eight innings of three-run ball in that game, while Eovaldi yielded two runs in six innings.

Kirby has dominated the Rangers over his career, posting a 1.31 ERA over 68 2/3 innings in 11 starts against Texas. It’s the second-best ERA against a single opponent among active MLB pitchers who have made at least 10 career starts against that opponent. Kirby, a 2023 All-Star, has a 3.25 ERA in four outings this season.

Eovaldi, a two-time All-Star in 2021 and 2023, has a 5.40 ERA through four starts this season. He allowed 11 runs in 8 2/3 innings over his first two starts, but just two runs in 13 innings over his latest two starts.

The Mariners are looking to snap a four-game losing streak. Seattle also is looking for its first win over Texas this season. The Rangers swept the Mariners in Arlington earlier this month and then won Friday night’s series opener in Seattle.

First pitch for Saturday’s game is scheduled for 4:15 p.m. Radio coverage begins at 3 p.m. with the pregame show on Seattle Sports 710 AM and the Seattle Sports app.

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