Paul Skenes' girlfriend Olivia Dunne shares surfing experience alongside friend and model Olivia Ponton
Paul Skenes had a great 22nd birthday, leading the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 10-2 win over the Detroit Tigers on Wednesday. Meanwhile, his girlfriend, Olivia Dunne, has spent some time in Mexico, enjoying the sun and the sea.
Dunne regularly shares updates of her life with her 5.2 million followers on Instagram. On Thursday, she posted a clip of her and model Olivia Ponton walking out of the sea after surfing, as well as a photo of her enjoying some sunshine.
Back in the MLB, Paul Skenes has looked very good across his first four starts for the Pittsburgh Pirates. With the Pirates winning in three of those, there's optimism that Skenes can help the franchise pick up enough wins to make the playoffs for the first time since 2015.
Paul Skenes' 'splinker' receives praise from Pirates and Tigers managers
Following the victory, Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton spoke to reporters and was impressed by Paul Skenes' splinker, a sinking splitter that he used to great effect:
“It was the pitch he used the most. He got some at-bats that got extended, and the most impressive thing was he still finished hitters. And we’ve got a really cool name for it. The way he holds it I think is different, and I think that’s why it’s got a really cool name.”
Tigers manager A.J. Hinch also discussed the pitch:
“It looked like we had a couple opportunities to chase him early with a couple hits or stringing together some high pitch counts. And then he had the equalizer: His split was really good anytime he went to it.
“Whatever he calls it, it’s really effective and really impactful to both sides of hitters. He could go get chase with it. He could go get swing-and-miss. So we had a hard time with the overall package. He’s a talented kid."
With the Pirates 26-30 and fourth in the NL Central, they need to find a way to consistently win games. A couple of lengthy losing streaks weakened Pittsburgh's playoff ambitions, but with the Central being led by the 33-23 Milwaukee Brewers, there's everything to play for.
Paul Skenes is set to start next on Wednesday, June 5 against the LA Dodgers, a team that poses a variety of formidable hitting threats. This promises to be a very interesting game and Skenes' performance will doubtless be heavily analyzed.