In Photos: Paul Skenes gets a boost from girlfriend Olivia Dunne & dog Roux as they tune in to watch Pirates ace's outing against Cardinals
Watching Paul Skenes' games is one of the past times for social media star Olivia Dunne. While she attends the games in person when they are held at PNC Park, when he starts on the road, she uses the comfort of her home.
The Pittsburgh Pirates rookie made a start on Monday against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. He registered a dominant start, pitching six innings, allowing only one run on four hits, one walk and seven strikeouts.
On Monday, Dunne and her dog "Roux" enjoyed Paul Skenes in action in front of the TV.
Despite Paul Skenes' quality start, the Pirates hitters couldn't muster even a single as they took a shutout loss against Andre Pallante and Co.
Skenes took the loss from the game, as his record dropped to 10-3 while his ERA improved to 2.07.
Paul Skenes gets outdueled by André Pallente on mound
Monday's game saw two young pitchers take the mound and wreak havoc at the plate.
Skenes retired the first 10 hitters straight before Alex Burleson got aboard on an error. With intense face-off with Paul Goldschmidt at the plate, Skenes tried to pick off Burleson three times, leading to him taking second base due to a disengagement violation.
Goldschmidt was retired after nine-pitch at-bat but his soft contact allowed Burleson to reach third. An RBI single from Nolan Arenado got the Cardinals their first run.
Meanwhile, on the other end, Andre Pallante tossed seven shutout innings, including nine strikeouts.
“Overall, he threw the ball well,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said on the SportsNet Pittsburgh postgame show. “It was a one-run game going into the seventh. Pallante had thrown the ball well. It kind of changed from there.”
“They’re a good lineup,” Skenes said. “It’s going to be grindy sometimes.”
Before the season winds up, Paul Skenes is expected to make two more starts, and one can expect Olivia Dunne to be present to see off the season for the Pirates, who won't be qualifying for the postseason.