Paul Skenes had plenty to smile about this week – both on and off the baseball field. As the Pittsburgh Pirates ace turned 23 on Thursday, his girlfriend and LSU gymnastics star Olivia Dunne shared a playful and affectionate birthday message on Instagram that instantly grabbed fans’ attention.
“Happy birthday little baby,” Dunne wrote alongside a series of photos of the couple, poking fun at the towering 6-foot-6 right-hander. Her post quickly made waves across social media, generating thousands of likes and reposts as fans gushed over the pair’s chemistry.
But Dunne wasn’t the only one getting in on the fun. Her sister, Julz Dunne, posted a humorous birthday tribute of her own, sharing an old photo of Skenes holding her legs during a kegstand and captioning it: “Thanks for always lifting me when I’m down.”
Skenes stakes Cy Young claim with stunning early season
While the birthday love stole the spotlight on social media, Skenes is continuing to do the same on the mound. Just days before his birthday, the former LSU standout delivered another elite performance against the Arizona Diamondbacks, tossing 6.2 scoreless innings and striking out seven.
The outing lowered his 2025 ERA to a dazzling 2.15 with a 0.92 WHIP across 75.1 innings pitched – numbers that have firmly placed him in the National League Cy Young conversation.
His manager, Don Kelly, didn’t hold back in his praise after the performance. “Paul Skenes, they don’t come around ever,” Kelly said. “I think there’s a few pitchers like that. When I was younger, I got to play with Verlander and Scherzer, and that’s what you see in Paul – that type of guy.”
“If he can continue that, continue to develop, continue to grow. He’s a pitcher, not a thrower. Just the way he works, everything. He’s definitely a guy you want to build around.”
Since his MLB debut, Skenes has compiled a career ERA of 2.03, marking the lowest for any qualified pitcher under the age of 23 in over a century, according to MLB.com.
Selected first overall in the 2023 MLB Draft, Skenes has lived up to every expectation. His combination of velocity, control, and poise has made him one of the most exciting young arms in the game – and a rare bright spot in Pittsburgh’s ongoing rebuild.
With Olivia Dunne cheering from the stands and Deion Sanders praising him on social media – “It’s a beautiful thing,” Sanders wrote on Instagram – Skenes is becoming more than just a baseball prodigy. He’s turning into a cultural figure at the center of MLB’s next generation.
As the Pirates push forward in a competitive NL Central race, all eyes will remain on their birthday boy-turned-ace. And judging by the on-field results and off-field support, Paul Skenes is just getting started.
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