Watch: Olivia Dunne smiles as Paul Skenes recalls humbling “pro ball moment” against Shohei Ohtani

Paul Skenes walked the MLB All-Star Game red carpet with girlfriend Olivia Dunne in Atlanta for a second consecutive year. Ahead of his second start for the NL in the Midsummer Classic, Skenes shared his "pro ball moment" from his rookie year.

The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Skenes with the first pick in the 2023 MLB draft and promoted him to the roster the following year. There were a lot of expectations on the former LSU flamethrower, and Skenes delivered.

Although he was stellar from the mound in his rookie season, he faced a slight bump when he faced Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani. The 2024 NL Rookie of the Year pointed to his duel against Ohtani as his "welcome to the pro ball moment."

"I gave up a home run to Shohei Ohtani," Skenes said. "I'm not the first one that it's happened to. That was a little different."

Dunne reacted to his answer with a smile.

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Apart from his blip against one of the greatest hitters in MLB history, Skenes was largely spotless in his rookie season. He posted a 1.96 ERA and 0.95 WHIP with an 11-3 record in 23 starts that saw him win the NL Rookie of the Year award. Skenes was also one of the finalists for the NL Cy Young Award in his rookie year.

Paul Skenes helps girlfriend Olivia Dunne on MLB All-Star red carpet

Olivia Dunne has been spending more time with Paul Skenes this season after announcing her retirement from gymnastics earlier this year. She rocked up to the red carpet with Skenes for a second consecutive year and even received assistance from the Pirates flamethrower.

Skenes was seen helping Dunne with her heels on the red carpet ahead of Tuesday's All-Star game. The former LSU gymnast shared the moment on social media, writing:

“Big P to the rescue.”

Talking about the game, Skenes pitched a scoreless inning to start the All-Star contest for a second year running.

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