It will be very difficult for anyone to take the Cy Young Award away from Paul Skenes. The only pitcher who could have challenged him is out for the season due to injury (Zack Wheeler), and the young Pittsburgh Pirates star continues to prove he’s a phenomenon on another level. The bad news… He won’t be playing in the MLB playoffs.
But beyond what Skenes can do to amaze on the mound, his latest game was historically significant, also marked by the presence of his partner, Olivia Dunne, who we can definitely say is his number one fan.
Livvy Dunne steals the show at the Reds’ home
The partner of the Pirates pitcher was in attendance and more excited than anyone else at the Cincinnati ballpark. She could be seen during the broadcast, as the cameras panned to her multiple times.
“Paul Skenes dominates the Reds and Livvy Dunne approves, while enjoying a Miller Lite,” wrote a fan on the social media platform X.
“Livvy Dunne is my kind of baseball fan. Agonizing on every pitch. She’s locked in. Imagine what her reactions would be watching Paul Skenes in an actual Pirates playoff game,” another fan commented.
It’s clear that for Livvy Dunne to enjoy Paul Skenes in the postseason, she’ll have to wait at least one more season to see if Pittsburgh improves and can make the playoffs. What’s certain is that her boyfriend is pitching at another level.
Paul Skenes makes history, once again…
In a standout performance, Paul Skenes struck out Cincinnati Reds first baseman Spencer Steer to open the bottom of the second inning, marking his second strikeout of the game. This pivotal strikeout brought his season total to 211, surpassing teammate Mitch Keller’s 210 strikeouts from his 2023 All-Star campaign and setting a new Pittsburgh Pirates record for the most strikeouts by a right-handed pitcher in the live-ball era (since 1920).
The Pirates’ all-time single-season strikeout record belongs to Ed Morris, who fanned 326 batters in 1886, with his 298 strikeouts in 1885 ranking second in franchise history.
Skenes joins an elite group as only the seventh Pirates pitcher to reach 200 strikeouts in a single season during the live-ball era. He is one of four right-handers to achieve this milestone, alongside Keller (210 in 2023), A.J. Burnett (209 in 2013), and Gerrit Cole (202 in 2015). Left-hander Bob Veale accomplished the feat four times in the 1960s, with 276 strikeouts in 1965, 250 in 1964, 229 in 1966, and 213 in 1969.
Another lefty, Oliver Pérez, recorded 239 strikeouts in 2004, the third-highest total in the live-ball era, trailing only Veale’s 1965 and 1964 seasons.
By the end of the third inning in this outing, Skenes had reached 213 strikeouts, tying Veale’s 1969 total for the fifth-most in a single season in Pirates history. His 213 strikeouts also place him fifth in MLB for the 2025 season, behind Dylan Cease (San Diego Padres, 215), Logan Webb (San Francisco Giants, 216), Tarik Skubal (Detroit Tigers, 241), and Garrett Crochet (Boston Red Sox, 250).
Skenes’ career-high for strikeouts in a single game this season came on July 5, when he recorded 10 strikeouts in just five innings against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park. He has tallied nine strikeouts in four games, eight in seven games, seven in five, six in nine, and five in one. Only four of his starts resulted in four or fewer strikeouts.
With 170 strikeouts as a rookie in 2024, Skenes’ career total now stands at 383, ranking him 65th on the Pirates’ all-time strikeout list.
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