Olivia Dunne Arrived In Pittsburgh To Witness Skene’s MLB Debut
Paul Skenes’ MLB debut on Saturday will have extra glitz thanks to Dunne.
This Saturday’s game against the Cubs will mark the much awaited debut of Paul Skenes, the top pitching prospect for the Pittsburgh Pirates. The event is generating attention not only because of Skenes’ ability to pitch but also because Olivia Dunne, his equally famous girlfriend, will be there.
In Pittsburgh, Olivia Dunne is prepared to support Skenes
Skenes, who is regarded as one of baseball’s most promising prospects, will take the mound at PNC Park after a stellar Triple-A campaign in which he demonstrated his dominance by walking only three batters in 27 innings while striking out 45.
Still, attention is being drawn to more than just Skenes’ quick ascent to fame.
His girlfriend, social media phenomenon Olivia Dunne, an LSU alumna and former gymnast, has been making waves of her own.
Dunne is extremely popular outside of the athletics world, having amassed over 13 million followers on TikTok and Instagram.
She is a marketing juggernaut who has been in Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue and has sponsorships with well-known companies including American Eagle, Vuori, and Grubhub.
Early this week, there were rumors that Olivia Dunne will attend Skenes’ premiere, and her most recent social media tweets have verified this.
Though Dunne’s presence has been compared to other celebrity sports partners, such as Taylor Swift going to Travis Kelce‘s games, the effect of Dunne’s attendance is still unknown.
Even so, Skenes’ historic moment gains a fascinating subplot from the possibility that she will be in attendance.
Skenes activated to strengthen the Pirates’ starting pitching staff
Fans are excited to watch history being made as Skenes gets ready to display his lightning fastball, which has been timed at over 102.1 mph.
The record-breaking feats of the 21-year-old phenom’s path to the majors include signing for an astounding $9.2 million, the largest bonus ever given to an amateur in baseball history.
Even though they are now last in the National League Central, the Pirates are still a strong team thanks to a young core that includes players like Jared Jones and Skenes.
Although Skenes was picked by the Pirates in 2023, MLB evaluators thought he was ready for the big leagues. However, the team chose to gradually increase his innings pitched in order to prevent a potential mistake later in the season.
Pittsburgh anticipates that Skenes, who has only made a small number of pitches in Triple-A, will be ready to contribute to their rotation for the duration of 2024.
