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The stars were out at Citi Field on Monday as the best young pitcher in the game took the bump.
Paul Skenes started on the mound for the Pittsburgh Pirates against the first-place New York Mets. And yes, girlfriend Livvy Dunne, who grew up less than 30 miles from the Mets’ ballpark, was in attendance.
Dunne’s gymnastics career just ended, so she’s finally getting a chance to see Skenes’ sophomore season.
Dunne has also been a Sports Illustrated model in each of the last two years, and she decided to bring along some friends.
Camille Kostek (Rob Gronkowski’s girlfriend), Ellie Thumann and Xandra Pohl each threw out the first pitch on Monday to Mark Vientos, Tyrone Taylor and Huascar Brazoban, doing their best impression of Skenes himself.
The models even took a selfie ahead of time. Dunne was gifted a Mets jersey from the team, which she wore, despite her boyfriend pitching against them.
Skenes finished in third place in the National League Cy Young Award vote last year and was named the NL Rookie of the Year. He became the first rookie to start an All-Star Game since Hideo Nomo in 1995. He pitched to a 1.96 ERA and struck out 11.5 batters per nine innings.
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Skenes has not been as sharp as last year in his sophomore season, although his 2.77 ERA entering Monday is hardly anything to complain about.
Monday marks Skenes’ first start since manager Derek Shelton was fired after Pittsburgh started 12-26. It was a move Skenes admitted he was not surprised by.
“We’re 12-26. Someone’s gotta be held accountable,” he told reporters Friday. “Unfortunately, right now, it’s him.”
But Skenes said a managerial change won’t do much because it’s ultimately up to the players.
“Just how it goes. I don’t know if it fixes the root of the issue. We just need to play better,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Mets are tied for the second-best record in the sport at 26-15, tied with the Detroit Tigers and trailing the Los Angeles Dodgers, who beat the Mets in the National League Championship Series last season.
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