Livvy Dunne cheers on Paul Skenes in dominant outing at MLB All-Star Game
Paul Skenes dominated in the first inning at the MLB All-Star Game — and had his own personal cheering section to boot.
The Pirates right-hander twirled a scoreless first inning, working around a walk to Juan Soto, against the superstar-filled American League lineup on Tuesday night in the National League’s eventual 5-3 loss at Globe Life Field.
“I don’t think I blacked out when I was out there, but I was pretty close,” Skenes told reporters after the game.
After getting the Guardians’ Steven Kwan and the Orioles’ Gunnar Henderson out with relative ease, Skenes issued a free pass to Soto after the count went full.
That set up a showdown with 2022 AL MVP Aaron Judge, who rolled over on 99.7 mph fastball to third base to end the inning.
During the frame, Skenes was cheered on by girlfriend and LSU gymast Livvy Dunne from the stands.
“Let’s go Paul!” the social media sensation was heard cheering on the Fox broadcast.
Dunne, later in the night, posted on her Instagram story a picture of herself inside the ballpark wearing a National League jersey with a black and gold shirt with Skenes written across it.
This came after the two starred and held hands on the red carpet in Arlington before the game started.
Skenes, 22, was the first rookie to be named a starting pitcher for the MLB All-Star Game since Hideo Nomo did so for the National League in 1995.
Max Fried entered in the second inning to replace Skenes, who threw 11 of his 16 pitches for strikes.
The Pittsburgh rookie threw seven pitches at 98.2 mph or harder in his first All-Star Game, five of which were 99.6 mph or faster.
“Frankly, I wish I had a few more pitches,” Skenes said of his brief outing.
