In Photos: Paul Skenes shares unseen moments with family and girlfriend Olivia Dunne from dream MLB debut at PNC Park
Paul Skenes made his highly anticipated debut with the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday. His girlfriend, Olivia Dunne, and family members were in attendance at PNC Park to see the 2023 No. 1 pick fan hitters.
Only three days before, Skenes and Dunne, who were in Indianapolis with his Triple-A team, got the news about his call-up to the majors. The duo missed their flight and had to reach Pittsburgh via a six-hour car drive, Dunne said.
Sharing his experience of the big day, Paul Skenes immortalized his debut on social media on Thursday. Baseball's top pitching prospect shared pictures of him posing with family, his girlfriend, walking through the stairs where a quote from the iconic Roberto Clemente is placed and his teammates' celebration after their 10-9 victory over the Chicago Cubs.
"5.11.24," he wrote.
Pirates manager assessment of Paul Skenes' debut
Paul Skenes struck out seven in four innings in his debut against the Chicago Cubs. He looked good and had a 6-1 lead but exited after giving up a double and an infield single to start the fifth inning, having thrown 84 pitches (his high at Indianapolis had been 75). Both runners scored as Chicago rallied for seven runs, all with two outs.
Overall, Skenes pitched four innings, allowed three earned runs, and allowed two walks while striking out seven.
“I would guess he was a little bit overamped, so the fastball command, you know, wasn't as sharp as we'd seen it in (Triple-A) Indy,” Pittsburgh manager Derek Shelton said after the game. “And understandably. I mean the crowd was into it. That was fun. … I think he'll learn from it and be able to build off it, but overall, the stuff is really good."
Skenes had pitched into the fifth inning in his final three minor league starts as the organization has been careful with his innings and his rest.
“I have to get them out quicker, regardless if they're Major League hitters or not, I just have to get them out quicker,” Skenes said. “That's the bigger thing for me, because, I think the way I threw today, it probably would've been a deep (start), or bigger pitch count.”
Paul Skenes is scheduled to start against the Chicago Cubs on Friday, but the game will be at Wrigley Field in Chicago this time.