KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Giants hero Travis Ishikawa wasn’t a Yankee long enough to meet all his teammates a year ago.
Claimed on waivers from the Orioles on July 7 while at his West Coast home, Ishikawa took a red-eye flight to New York and was in the starting lineup that night at first base against the Royals.
He went 0-for-2 with two strikeouts and five days later he was released.
“A first-class organization, they treated me great for the few days I was there,’’ Ishikawa said Monday prior to a World Series workout at Kauffman Stadium. “I remember the clubhouse being really big and I got lost there the first day. I didn’t get a chance to meet everybody. I would have liked to. It was midseason and we were all trying to prepare for games with guys in their routines and things like that. I enjoyed my time there, it was a lot of fun.’’
Four days after sending the Giants to the World Series with a game-winning, three-run homer against the Cardinals in Game 5 of the NLCS, Ishikawa finds it difficult to believe it was him who hit the homer off Michael Wacha.
“It doesn’t feel like it was me. I am still trying to accept the fact that it was me,’’ said Ishikawa, who will be in left field for Game 1. “It’s been a very humbling experience. Obviously, when we get to [Tuesday] my mind will be on [James] Shields and the Royals. Maybe when the World Series is over I will get a chance to reflect on it.’’
Because the Royals swept the Orioles in four ALCS games and James Shields had a painful kidney stone that didn’t allow him to start Game 4, the right-hander will start Game 1 of the World Series Tuesday night having gone 11 days between starts. He started Game 1 against the Orioles.
“It was excruciating pain,’’ Shields told the Kansas City Star Monday. “I wasn’t feeling good.’’
Shields passed the stone before having a test done to find out what caused the pain.
As for the 11 days off, Shields embraced it.
“It’s always good to have some rest but my body feels great. Everything feels good right now and [there] shouldn’t be any issues,’’ Shields said.
As for his performance in three postseason outings, Shields says there is room for improvement.
“I haven’t pitched the way I wanted to,’’ said Shields, who is 1-0 with a 5.63 ERA in three starts. “There is no doubt about it. I feel like I could pitch better. But with that said, I feel really good.’’
Shields’ last outing consisted of five innings on October 10 against the Orioles in which he gave up four runs and 10 hits in an 8-6 win in 10 innings.
“I am a big believer in amnesia, I have been doing it my entire career and I have had a bunch of bad outings and I have also come back from them so I am not too worried about it,’’ Shields said.
Buster Posey was asked about being the new Derek Jeter.
“Any time you are compared to Derek Jeter it is extremely flattering,’’ the Giants’ catcher said. “It’s an honor to have that comparison, for sure.’’
Jarrod Dyson said the Giants can do whatever they want to try and contain the Royals on the basepaths but don’t expect the Royals to alter their approach.
“We are not going to stop what we are doing,’’ Dyson said of the Royals, who have 13 stolen bases in 16 attempts in the postseason but were just 1-for-3 in the four ALCS games. “I don’t know what they will change but we aren’t going to change. We led the league in stolen bases all year. I look forward to getting a bag or two in this series.”