Paul Skenes and Olivia Dunne bring joy to young Pirates fan with heartwarming gesture

Since his major league debut last season, Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes has emerged as a fan favorite. The two-time All-Star pitcher justified the tag after the series opener against the Boston Red Sox on Friday.

Paul Skenes' girlfriend and former LSU Tigers gymnast Olivia Dunne shared an image of their interaction with a young Pirates fan on her Instagram story on Sunday. The duo reportedly met the fan recovering in a hospital, captioning the image:

"Got to spend some time with our buddy Riley today."

Dunne, who retired from gymnastics earlier this year, enjoyed tennis at the U.S. Open in New York this week before flying to Boston for Skenes' start at Fenway Park in the series opener.

In her Instagram story on Saturday, Dunne shared that she was back in New York. She captioned her story:

"So back."

Olivia Dunne rocked to the ballpark for Friday's game against the Red Sox in a classy white top paired with a denim jeans. During the game, when Skenes fanned Boston outfielder Ceddanne Rafaela, Dunne shared a video on TikTok.

"My dawg," Dunne captioned the post.

Paul Skenes praised Red Sox rookie after gritty performance with Olivia Dunne in the stands

Paul Skenes was involved in a pitching duel against Red Sox rookie Payton Tolle. Skenes, who was in a similar position last season with the Pirates in his rookie year, hailed the Red Sox prospect after the 4-2 win.

“I’m the seasoned veteran now,” Skenes said. “I’ve watched video of him. The stuff is obviously really good. I didn’t get a ton of time to watch him tonight. But it’s cool to see that. I’ll be watching him.”

With Olivia Dunne in the stands, Skenes ground out a shaky start after conceding a solo home run to another Red Sox rookie, Roman Anthony, in the fifth inning.

The home run was the only run conceded by Skenes despite giving away a season-high seven hits in six innings. His strong finish, coupled with a late flurry from the Pirates' hitters, edged them over Boston.

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