By DANIEL DULLUM
Sports Radio Service
Sunday, March 27, 2016

AP photo: Chicago White Sox Travis Ishikawa was a single short of getting a cycle in Sunday’s game against the San Francisco Giants

SCOTTSDALE, Arizona – Travis Ishikawa knows all too well how fleeting fame can be.

The star of the San Francisco Giants’ 2014 playoff run, Ishikawa is in the Chicago White Sox camp as a non-roster invitee, wearing No. 64 as an indication of his status. The 10-year veteran is hoping to catch on as a left-handed designated hitter and backup first baseman.

In 23 Cactus League games for the Sox, Ishikawa is hitting .289 with four doubles, a triple and two home runs, accounting for a .556 slugging percentage.

“It’s going good,” Ishikawa said of his spring with the White Sox. “We’re getting close, so anything can happen. Regardless of what happens, I’m very happy to have a job and have a chance to get to the big leagues, either to start the year or maybe come up later on in the season, that’s what I’m fighting for each and every day.

“I don’t want to be a career minor leaguer,” he added. “This is the only place to play.”

In the fall of 2014, Ishikawa, a career first baseman, filled in out of necessity in left field and hit a walk-off home run against St. Louis to put the Giants in the World Series and eventually earned his second championship ring.

“It’s different, looking across at (the Giants’) dugout,” Ishikawa said. “I come in today, walking in and seeing a bunch of guys that you spend eight or nine months out of the year with, and you’re either on top of the world or the bottom of the barrel together, fighting. Sure, there’s a connection with those guys.

“I’ve been able to make those connections like that with guys in other organizations as well, but I’ve spent a majority of my professional career as a Giant. San Francisco, and their fan base, have a special place in my heart. It was so humbling, again, with my outs or my hits today, to hear the cheers. Those fans are one-of-a-kind.”

But that’s history, recent as it is. Now, the 32-year-old Ishikawa is looking to extend his major league career with the White Sox, where he’s still in the mix for a spot on their 25-man roster.

In Sunday’s 13-9 Cactus League win over the Giants, Ishikawa made a good case for himself to head north for Opening Day, coming one single shy of hitting for the cycle. In five at-bats, Ishikawa had four runs batted in on a triple, double and home run off Giants pitching.

Ishikawa confessed that he knew he was close to the cycle, saying, “I’ve never hit one before, and the single is the closest I’ve ever been, and me hitting a triple and a home run in the same game is something that rarely happens. I was trying for it, but it just wasn’t meant to be today.”

Ishikawa first came up with San Francisco in 2006 and stuck with the Giants from 2008 through 2010. From there, his career hit the shuttle, bouncing to Milwaukee, Baltimore, the Yankees, Pittsburgh, the Giants again in 2014, and back to Pittsburgh in 2015 after the Giants designated him for assignment last July.

It’s “a love of the game,” Ishikawa said, that keeps him going.

“I’ve been very fortunate, very blessed to spend a significant amount of time in the big leagues,” Ishikawa said. “It’s what I’ve always wanted to do since I was a little kid. It’s all I’ve ever wanted; I still feel like I can compete at the major league level until the day comes where I can’t do that anymore. Until that day comes, I’ll keep fighting for it.”

On the Giants’ side, Grant Green is in a similar boat. The one-time top prospect of the Oakland Athletics went 1-for-4 on Sunday in his quest to catch on with San Francisco, but might get caught in the numbers game.

THE GAME
Both the White Sox and Giants took turns beating up on each other in the early innings Sunday, with the game tied 5-5 after three innings.

Brandon Crawford and Kelly Tomlinson gave San Francisco (11-17) a 2-0 lead with first-inning RBI singles to kick off the scoring spree.

In the bottom of the second, another run-scoring single by Crawford and a two-RBI double by Brandon Belt put the Giants up 5-0. That lead didn’t’ last long, as the White Sox batted around in the third, scoring five runs – two unearned. The big blow was a bases-loaded triple to center by Ishikawa on an 0-2 pitch from Jake Peavy.

San Francisco surged ahead 6-5 in the fourth when Sox pitcher Mat Latos threw a pickoff throw to second with no one covering. A balk was called, allowing Brandon Belt (who walked and went to third on a Jimmy Rollins’ throwing error) to score from third.

The throwing error by Latos provided the punctuation mark to his afternoon. Latos, pitching for his sixth major league team in five years, worked four innings, giving up seven hits and six runs – five earned – three walks and a balk. He struck out three.

Latos also hit Hunter Pence with a pitch in the bottom of the second.

“There’s no way I was trying to throw at (Pence) intentionally, especially in spring training,” Latos said. “I didn’t land properly and the pitch got away from me.”

Chicago (13-12) went ahead to stay with a five-run rally in the seventh, with home runs by Ishikawa and Avisail Garcia providing much of the damage.

Offensive highlights for the Giants include Mac Williamson’s fifth home run of the spring, and doubles by Belt and Gorkys Hernandez. Crawford was 3-for-4 with two RBIs.

Peavy worked 5 2/3 innings, giving up five runs – three earned – on six hits, striking out two and issuing two walks. George Kontos had the blown save and the loss – he was on the hook for all five runs scored by the White Sox in the seventh without recording an out.

Sox right-hander Scott Carroll (1-0) gave up two earned runs and struck out three in four innings to snag the vulture win.

CACTUS NEEDLES: In Mesa, the Athletics optioned OF Jake Smolinski to Triple-A Nashville and reassigned C Carson Blair to their minor league camp. … The Giants have hit 35 home runs this spring and were tied with Arizona for most spring training homers for National League teams in all of spring training going into Sunday with 34. … Giants OF Hunter Pence has hit six home runs, and 1B Brandon Belt has five, ranking 1-2, respectively, in Cactus League homers. … Giants INF Ehire Adrianza leads the club this spring with 18 hits and six doubles, Belt leads San Francisco with 16 RBIs and seven walks, and OF Gorkys Hernandez has four stolen bases. … The Giants have two more exhibition games remaining in Arizona before heading north – ticket sales are reportedly brisk for Wednesday’s game at Triple-A Sacramento. The Giants host the Thursday and Friday games of the Bay Bridge Series, which concludes on April 2 at the O.co Coliseum in Oakland.

TAGS: Travis Ishikawa,Chicago White Sox,San Francisco Giants,Cactus League,Sports Radio Service,Daniel Dullum