Seager's marvelous May ends in fitting way

SEATTLE -- Have yourself a month, Kyle Seager. And you too, Mariners.
The Mariners' third baseman has seen his personal fortunes rise along with that of his team, and Seager was again in on all the fun in the Seattle's 16-4 pasting of the Padres at Safeco Field on Tuesday afternoon that closed out the second month of the season.
Seager singled in Seattle's first run in the first inning, his three-run home run off Padres starter James Shields wrapped up a six-run second inning, and he added a single and a walk. After 31 days of May, Seager enters June with a line of .274/.353/.521 with 10 homers, 33 RBIs and 22 walks to his 29 strikeouts. They're All-Star-type numbers a third of the way through the season, and they're mind-boggling considering where he stood at the end of April.
• Cast your Esurance All-Star ballot for Seager and other #ASGWorthy players
Back then, after the Mariners beat the Royals on April 30, he was slashing .159/.266/.378. So it's been quite a turnaround for player and team. Seattle went 13-10 in April after a rough first couple of weeks and before posting a 17-11 record in May.

"I looked up today and saw him hitting like .274," Mariners manager Scott Servais said. "I said, 'My gosh.' The first month he was hitting .174 or .147, something like that. It says a lot for what he's done over the last 25, 30 games, and really our entire club.
"Everyone's pitched in at one point or another … a great, great effort."
Seager said he put in a lot of work with hitting coach Edgar Martinez in watching film and identifying a few holes he'd developed in his swing. It appears they've been ironed out sufficiently, considering that in the 29 games since April 30, he's hitting .370 (41-for-111) with six homers, 23 RBIs, 10 doubles, two triples and 19 runs scored. He's recorded 13 multi-hit games in that 29-game span and has hits in 24 of them.
He's also maintained a sense of humor, which might be another key to his resurgence.
"When your batting average is low enough, it's not hard to gain that much," Seager said when asked about the enormous mathematical increase. He also lauded this Mariners offense, which is scoring runs at a much brisker pace than any he's been a part of during his tenure in Seattle.
"We have a much deeper lineup, for sure," Seager said. "It's a much more dynamic lineup as well. There's a lot more athleticism than we've had in years past, so that's definitely a good thing.
"It's a good team."