“That kid, he’s got the ‘it’ factor,” Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. “We’ve thrown a lot at him since he’s been here. I’m really happy for him. You remember how young he is and trying to play in the big leagues.
“He’s not just physically gifted. We’ve thrown a lot at him and we trust him. He’s kind of settling in.”
Meeting expectations is nothing new for Frelick. He was a star quarterback at Lexington High who also excelled at baseball and hockey. He signed with the Eagles intending to play football and baseball before deciding to focus on baseball.
It was a wise choice. Frelick was the 15th pick of the draft and this season has hit .250 with a .679 OPS, nine extra-base hits, and six stolen bases while playing above-average defense.
Friday would be Frelick’s first major league game at Fenway and his first time facing the Red Sox. He told reporters he expects 30 friends and family at the series.
“Obviously it’ll be a little different,” he said.
The 28-21 Brewers have been one of the surprise teams in baseball.
Manager Craig Counsell finished out his contract last year and left the team after nine seasons. He accepted a five-year, $40 million contract with the Cubs.
The Brewers also traded ace righthander Corbin Burnes to the Orioles and lost lefthander Wade Miley to Tommy John surgery after two starts. All-Star closer Devin Williams hasn’t pitched because of a stress fracture in his back.
Murphy, who was Counsell’s bench coach, took over as manager. The Brewers are averaging just under five runs per game and despite the injuries and losses to the pitching staff are below the league average in ERA.
Murphy coached 25 seasons in college, primarily at Notre Dame and Arizona State. He coached Dustin Pedroia with the Sun Devils from 2002-04.
Crawford leads off
Kutter Crawford, fourth in the American League with a 2.17 ERA, will face Bryce Wilson, who is 0-1 with a 2.20 ERA in six starts since being elevated out of the bullpen. Crawford faced the Brewers in relief last season and pitched two scoreless innings … Friday’s game will be on Apple TV+ only … Ceddanne Rafaela leads the Red Sox with 26 RBIs despite a .198 batting average. He also leads all rookies in RBIs … Triston Casas was in Lynn Thursday to present students from The Washington S.T.E.M Elementary School with 500 Sox tickets. The school was celebrating the five-year anniversary of the Wolves Den food pantry at the school, which is sponsored by Stop & Shop.
Peter Abraham can be reached at peter.abraham@globe.com. Follow him @PeteAbe.