PITTSBURGH -- It wasn’t really a concert, and there wasn’t really a setlist, so Steven Brault took requests from the audience he entertained as he assumed control of MLB’s Instagram for about an hour Tuesday night.
Brault, the Pirates left-hander with a recently released album of Broadway covers, bounced from a verse of “My Cherie Amour” by Stevie Wonder to the chorus of “I Want It That Way” by the Backstreet Boys. He mixed in some Queen (“Somebody to Love”) and Frank Sinatra (“Fly Me to the Moon”) with a little John Denver (“Take Me Home, Country Roads”) and even a couple bars of Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up” for good measure.
Brault also provided a glimpse of his album, titled “A Pitch at Broadway,” by singing bits of “Wait for Me” from “Hadestown” and “You’ll Be Back” from “Hamilton.” He broke into a bit of “Music of the Night” from “Phantom of the Opera” and, after explaining his partnership with Stand Up To Cancer, finished with a verse from “You’ll Never Walk Alone.”
Throughout his Instagram Live show, Brault fielded all sorts of questions from fans. He talked about everything from when he thinks the baseball season will start (“Whenever things start moving a bit,” he said) and his funniest Pittsburgh teammate (Trevor Williams) to his favorite song on his album (“Wait for Me”) and his favorite Major League player.
“Shohei Ohtani,” answered Brault, a two-way player in college who homered at Coors Field last season, “because he’s everything I want to be.”
Sporting what he called his “quarantine mustache” from his place in Bradenton, Fla., Brault welcomed three guests -- Chris Rose from MLB Network, teammate Josh Bell and drummer Kenny Aronoff -- and at one point Angels manager Joe Maddon popped into the comments with a thumbs-up emoji. Bell, who lent his voice on Brault’s album, immediately requested that his teammate sing “Shallow” from “A Star Is Born,” and Brault happily obliged.
Brault’s debut album was released on schedule last Friday. He and his team had been planning a release party in Pittsburgh, conveniently on the off-day after the Bucs’ home opener. But with large gatherings prohibited and social distancing measures in place, Brault settled for the next-best thing: a virtual release party streamed on the Pirates’ Instagram featuring guest appearances from teammates Jameson Taillon, Trevor Williams and Bell.
Osuna helps in hometown
With baseball on hold, Pirates utility man José Osuna returned home to Venezuela and found a way to assist those in need.
Last weekend, the 27-year-old Osuna -- outfitted in a face mask and gloves -- personally delivered supplies to people in the town of Boconó, a city in his home state of Trujillo. According to El Pitazo, Osuna distributed food and face masks to people who are quarantined due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Venezuela confirmed its first cases of coronavirus on March 13, according to Reuters, and called for a nationwide quarantine on March 16.
Last Friday, Osuna posted on social media urging people to stay at home and informing them of his plan to aid those in Boconó, saying, “You can count on my help.”
More games to come on AT&T SportsNet
AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh, the Pirates and Penguins’ broadcast partner, will air more classic Pirates and Penguins games over the next month while the regular season is postponed. The network carried Game 5 of the 1979 World Series on Tuesday night, with Game 6 set to air at 7 p.m. ET on Thursday and Game 7 coming at 7 p.m. on April 14.
Then AT&T SportsNet Pittsburgh will move ahead to the early 1990s by showing Game 1 of the 1990 National League Championship Series on April 16, Game 5 of that series on April 21 and Game 4 of the 1991 NLCS on April 23.