It’s a good thing I spent most of Friday outdoors as it was a perfect day to spend along the water. Before and after a superb lunch at Zaffiro’s for pizza+ (celebrating their 70th anniversary), I took advantage of perfect weather to read, relax and check out a few neighborhoods. Inexplicably, the roof and all of the panels were closed at AmFam.

While I may have lunched solo on this adventure, I was joined at the park by my friends Nella and Jim. I didn’t take a survey, but I don’t think many of the Sox fans that made the trip north were there for the weekend. Unlike other fan bases, I didn’t see as many Sox jerseys floating around the city, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t travel well.

As was the case with my recent Wrigley experience, I arrived too late for BP. If you’ve been able to catch BP I’d love to hear about it. With so many teams doing much of their pregame work behind closed doors, arriving early is meaningless these days. We got there early enough to collect our bronze Fonzie bobbleheads without having to wait in line.

Without spoiling the end of the movie, I’m sharing the Brewers side to my scorecard to give you some idea as to how crazy the game was. I won’t give a blow-by-blow account but rather some highlights and key moments/themes. For the past 4 seasons or so, the Brewers have produced one of the more worthless programs ($2) as it doesn’t contain either team’s current roster. It’s a generic card that can be used the entire season (cheapskates).

Aside from their records, the two teams were trending in different directions as the three-game series began. The Brewers had just finished off the Cubs 3-1 at AmFam, and the Sox came to town having lost 8 in a row.

One of the newer statistical additions to the scoreboard is 1st pitch strike and %. One can focus too much on the numbers on the board, but sometimes they tell the story. Until he got slapped around in the 4th inning, Sox starter, Erick Fedde was 9/9 in first pitch strikes. What that doesn’t include is whether the batter swung and missed, made contact or took the pitch. However, for most of the game and series, the Brewers have been very aggressive at the plate-going after that first pitch strike and making good contact. The Brewers left 16 men on base and still scored 12 runs. White Sox pitchers failed to pitch a perfect inning. Enough said.

The Brewers had 23 hits on the day, 18 singles and five doubles which doesn’t mean they didn’t hit the ball hard. Rather, they hit them where they weren’t and in gaps and the opposite way. Throw in the fact, they are extremely fast, and good baserunners and any defensive lapses will be exposed (eventually).

Sal Frelick scores from first, in the second, on a Joey Ortiz double.

Sox rental shortstop, Paul Dejong, momentarily tied the game at one when he hit his team-leading homer in the 3rd. They would tack on an additional two in the inning on a two-run, Corey Julks’ double.

As was the case earlier in the week with the Cubs, the Brewers were down 5-3 heading into the bottom of the 7th. They erupted for 6 runs on 8 hits-with only 12 batters coming to the plate in the inning. Everyone in the starting lineup but Willy Adames had at least one hit on the day.

Milwaukee was in perpetual motion, taking bases, advancing and putting pressure on the defense whenever they could. I think Julks, the Sox right fielder, must have wondered if there is always this much running in the outfield.

The bottom third of the Brewers lineup produced big time. Frelick was 3-4 with two walks, an RBI and three runs scored. Ortiz, the #8 hitter, was 2-4 with a walk, RBI and run scored. Blake Perkins, the dynamic center fielder and #9 hitter, went 2-5 with an RBI and run scored.

Not to be outdone, the top of the order went 11-16 with 4 runs scored and 7 driven in. Brice Turang and William Contreras each went 3-5, but the biggest offensive star was left fielder, Christian Yelich who was 5-6 with five RBI.

I think everyone in the ballpark was surprised by the Brewers output without a home run, but it shows to go that the willingness and ability to go the other way can be as effective. Cub broadcasters were lauding the team for their three-homer game the other day-failing to realize, they still came up short. To illustrate the point, Oliver Dunn, a left-handed hitter came off the bench and took a ball the opposite way off lefty reliever, Jared Shuster.

Picture: Oliver Dunn going the other way, and everybody sees that.

I’d love to say that the Sox homegrown talent showed sparks, but they didn’t. Most of their offense came from former Cards, Tommy Pham (2-5, 2 runs scored), DeJong, and the newcomer and former Astro, Julks (2 RBI).

After an 8-run outburst over the last two innings, it’s hard to get excited about a bullpen, but after the 5th inning, Brewers relievers faced one above the minimum (12) over the final four innings. Enoli Paredes pitched a scoreless 6th to earn his first victory on the season and Kevin Herget pitched the last two to close out the Sox.

Enoli Paredes earns his first victory.

Whether the Brewers fans were bored or merely don’t care any longer, the noise level was pretty low for a game between former AL rivals. Maybe they expended all their energy booing Craig Counsell and whomping on Cub fans earlier in the week.

The Brewers won 12-5 and the game only took 3:02. I made it back to (temporary) Casa Bob and hit the sack after failing to find a late-night snack.