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MILWAUKEE -- For Sal Frelick's friends and family, the games are the fun part. Getting everyone together at American Family Field was the challenge.

“It’s hard to get flights from Boston to Milwaukee,” Frelick said in the aftermath of his memorable Major League debut in the Brewers’ win over the Braves on Saturday night.

Fortunately, his father, Jeff, brother, Nico, and sister, Francesca, were all there. Four or five friends made it, too. Most arrived it the same way Frelick did on short notice, flying into Chicago’s O’Hare Airport and driving up to Milwaukee.

By Sunday’s series finale against the Braves, the group had grown to 18 including Sal’s mother, Patty, who’d stayed behind for a day with the family dog, a German Shepherd/Sheltie mix whose image fills the home screen of Sal’s phone.

Someone had to look after Geno, after all.

“He’s part of the family,” Patty Frelick said. “I couldn’t just get up and leave him.”

At first, she was disappointed about missing her son’s debut. But it turned into a special experience of its own.

“I saw things that they couldn’t see,” Patty said of watching the FOX broadcast. “I could see the fans’ faces. I could see Sal close up. It was a good experience. I had my friends with me and we were yelling at the TV. I could say stuff I probably wouldn’t have said here!”

In Milwaukee, the three other members of the immediate family witnessed one of the best debuts in franchise history, a 3-for-3 night that included a run scored, an RBI single, a go-ahead sacrifice fly and a pair of sixth-inning catches worthy of the highlight reel.

Frelick tied the franchise record for hits in an MLB debut with Sixto Lezcano (1974) and Steve Bowling (1976), and joined Bowling and Taylor Green (2011) as the only players in franchise history with hits in each of his first three MLB plate appearances.

Two days later against the Reds, Frelick added his first Major League home run in the Brewers’ walk-off, 3-2 win over the Reds. According to ESPN Stats & Info, Frelick is the second Brewer to have five or more hits including a home run within his first three career games. The first was Paul Molitor in 1978, and we know how that turned out.

“A lot of it really hasn't sunk in yet, but I think that's part of the game,” Sal Frelick said. “Going out, competing and wanting to win so bad that some of the stuff doesn't really settle until after the game.”

His family has enjoyed every moment.

“It was a culmination of Sal’s entire athletic career,” said dad Jeff, who played college football at Pitt. “The work, the effort. His passion for sports every year got more and more intense as he went through high school, college, the Minor Leagues, the World Baseball Classic. All this stuff led to the debut with the Brewers. It was a playoff atmosphere. You couldn’t have asked for anything better.”

The three family members in attendance for the debut had plenty of facetime on FOX, including brother Nico, who got a workout jumping out of his seat for every hit and every leaping catch.

“I’ve been seeing Sal make plays like that his whole life, but it was something else seeing him do it at this level,” Nico said.

Said Francesca: “Having the fans give him such a warm welcome and stand up for his third and fourth at-bat, it was just great to see.”

Adding to the joy, Jeff Frelick said, was the unexpected nature of his callup. Sal missed about six weeks of this season after tearing a ligament in his left thumb, and for a time he didn’t hit much after returning to Triple-A Nashville. When Sal made a late-night call home Friday after getting word he was headed to Milwaukee, Patty at first worried he was injured again.

Instead, it was the news everyone had been hoping for.

“It caught us a little flat-footed,” Jeff Frelick said. “He was returning from an injury and we thought, OK, get your feet under you and put together some decent at-bats and games, and maybe after the Jacksonville series [which ended Sunday] at the earliest, or maybe Aug. 1 after the Trade Deadline.

“But when he called Friday night, we were scrambling to get flights and a dog-sitter. It was super special to be caught off-guard for that reason.”

When mom joined the party on Sunday, it was time to really celebrate.

“Big dinner at an Italian restaurant,” Jeff Frelick said. “Lots of pasta.”