Olivia Dunne teases Paul Skenes with amusing question over pitcher’s post-retirement plans

Pittsburgh Pirates flamethrower Paul Skenes is just in the second season of what promises to be a stellar career. However, the Pirates ace has seemingly got his post-retirement plans sorted.

Ahead of the Pirates' game against the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday, Skenes was seen hanging out with the ground crew near the infield at PNC Park. Following the game, the All-Star pitcher said he was talking to the crew because he was "bored."

The reigning National League Rookie of the Year said that he wants to cut grass professionally after calling time on his MLB career. Skenes' comment has been doing the rounds on social media, and his girlfriend Olivia Dunne teased him for it.

Paul Skenes pitched five scoreless innings on Tuesday, helping the Pirates to a 1-0 win. Following the win, Pittsburgh shared the ace's highlights on Instagram.

Dunne teased the Pirates ace with a hilarious comment:

"This is great and all but how well can you cut the grass?"

Olivia Dunne supports Paul Skenes at PNC Park with special friend

Olivia Dunne has been spending more time watching baseball this season after calling time on her gymnastics career in April. The former LSU Tigers star was at PNC Park to support Paul Skenes on Tuesday, but she wasn't alone. She shared a snap on Instagram from the game while holding their pet golden retriever Roux.

While Olivia Dunne is enjoying her time away from gymnastics, Paul Skenes continues to deliver the mound. Although Tuesday's outing ended in a no-decision, Skenes reduced his ERA to .203 for the season and is in contention to start the All-Star game for the National League later this month.

With the Pirates struggling in the NL Central with a 38-50 record, Skenes' name has been mentioned in trade rumors with one of the big market teams rumored to be making a move for him at the trade deadline.

About the author

Chaitanya Prakash is an editor who covers US Sports at Sportskeeda. His first brush with sportswriting was in 2012 when the greatest football manager of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson, bid farewell to the beautiful game.

Although having started out professionally as a cricket writer in 2022, Chaitanya's curiosity and indiscriminate interest in all sports in general eventually introduced him to America's favorite pastime.

While Chaitanya's favorite player from the current crop is the dynamic Venezuelan Ronald Acuna Jr., his all-time favorite, however, is Pedro Martinez, for his self-belief and consistency. He also rates Jose Bautista's iconic bat flip in 2015 as his favorite moment in baseball history.

Chaitanya specializes in reporting on technical aspects of the game or analyzing patterns behind specific plays. He also likes pondering over players' self-assessments following the conclusion of a game as it helps him get an idea of how they think about the sport in general.

When not cheering for his favorites across sports, Chaitanya likes being transported to the past through a good war documentary or a historical documentary in general.

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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash