"Purr" - Paul Skenes' girlfriend Olivia Dunne celebrates Pirates rookie's dominant nine strikeout outing against Reds

Pirates ace Paul Skenes' girlfriend, Olivia Dunne, celebrated yet another impressive outing by the rookie pitcher at home in PNC Park on Thursday night. Skenes dominated against the Cincinnati Reds by giving up no runs on two hits. He walked one and struck out a whopping nine batters to propel the Pirates to a shutout victory in the series opener.

Pittsburgh won 6-0 after a dominant display by their bullpen. The orchestrator of the win was Paul Skenes, followed by relief pitchers Ben Heller and Hunter Stratton. Olivia Dunne posted a story on Instagram celebrating Skenes' latest start with the caption:

"Purr"

Screenshot from Olivia Dunne's story on Instagram

Skenes and Dunne have been dating each other for over a year. They first met on the grounds of LSU campus in 2023, when Olivia Dunne was playing with the Tigers gymnastics team while Paul was with the Tigers baseball team. Livvy won her maiden NCAA title with LSU in April, while Skenes propelled LSU to a seventh College World Series honor in collegiate history in 2023.

Paul Skenes' success during the 2023 NCAA season put his name on the radar. His efforts paid off, as the Pirates selected him with the first overall pick in the 2023 MLB draft.

He made his professional debut in the big leagues in May, and, since then, he has jumped to an 8-2 record. Skenes also received the All-Star nod in his rookie season and started for the NL All-Stars in the Midsummer Classic in Alrington, Texas, on July 17.

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Paul Skenes will make his next start against the Cubs on Wednesday

Paul Skenes is set to make his next start in the series finale against the Chicago Cubs at home in PNC Park on August 28. He's 8-2 for the season with an ERA of 2.16, 130 strikeouts and 0.94 WHIP.

This will be Skenes third start against the Cubs in the current campaign, and he's 1-0 from his previous two starts against Chicago. Against the Cubs, he has pitched ten innings, giving up three earned runs on six hits and striking out 18 batters in the process.

Expect yet another dominant outing by the Pirates rookie on Wednesday.