ESPN’s Scruggs gives 2 keys for a Mariners turnaround

The Seattle Mariners are in the midst of a troubling tailspin.

After leading the AL West by as many as 3 1/2 games on May 23, the M’s have fallen to four games back in the division during an 11-20 stretch. It isn’t quite the same fall as last season when they let a 10-game lead slip away in record-setting time, but it’s left the team in a difficult situation as it begins a 30-game stretch leading up to the All-Star break that features 21 games against teams above .500.

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Can the Mariners pull themselves out of this rut? ESPN analyst and former MLB player Xavier Scruggs answered that question Thursday when he joined Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy.

“Absolutely,” Scruggs said. “… I think you got to look up in a positive sense because the division is not as tough as you might have thought was. We thought the Rangers were going to be a lot better. They’re one of the worst offenses in baseball. Houston is still only four games ahead of you right now. This is an opportunity to where it’s almost make or break.

“You figure out what type of team you have during these types of moments, and when you look at your own division – and let alone the rest of the American League – there’s still opportunity there.”

Two keys to turn things around

The Mariners have had a number of members of the lineup show flashes throughout the season.

Jorge Polanco and Dylan Moore had one of the best – if not the best months – of their careers in April. J.P. Crawford is having a bounce-back season and has been one of the team’s best hitters outside of a couple of brief slumps. Randy Arozarena put up a career-best on-base streak early on and has been heating up over the past couple of series. Julio Rodríguez is off to a quicker start than usual. And Cal Raleigh is putting MVP-type numbers.

Yet the offense as a whole hasn’t been able to consistently produce since a surprisingly strong April.

“They need all of those guys going offensively at the same time to be the best versions of themselves,” Scruggs said.

Another thing that stood out to Scruggs is the Mariners’ home record. They’re one of just eight teams in the league with a losing record at home at 16-17. Last year the club was 17 games above .500 (49-32) at its home ballpark.

“You’ve got to be better at home,” Scruggs said. “You’re under .500 at home. That’s when you should be able to dominate teams a little bit more.”

Hear the full conversation at this link or in the audio player near the top of this story. Listen to Bump and Stacy weekdays from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app. 

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