Paul Skenes and Olivia “Livvy” Dunne handled the Pirates pitcher’s Cy Young Award announcement like they’ve been there before.
Skenes pumped his fist and grinned from ear to ear before hugging his girlfriend after it was announced Wednesday night that he had captured the award for top pitcher in the National League in just his second MLB season.
It was a bit of a different reaction from when Skenes won NL Rookie of the Year honors last season, looking a little less excited when he won, while Dunne, the influencer and former LSU gymnast, and Skenes’ family erupted with cheers and applause.
Even MLB’s official X account noted the difference, poking fun at it in a social media post.
Skenes was named the 2025 Cy Young by unanimous vote after posting a 1.97 ERA and striking out 216 batters while only allowing 11 home runs and 42 walks over 32 starts.
Dunne gave fans a sneak peek behind the scenes of the night on social media and poked fun at her flamethrower beau on her Instagram story.
Sharing a post from MLB of the announcement, she wrote, “much excitement” over the video.
In another post, she shared the celebration spread at the party Skenes and his family were hosting. It included baseball jersey-shaped cookies with Skenes’ name on the back, a cake with Pirates logos on it and a large sign with lights that read “2025 CY YOUNG.”
The right-hander also posed in front of the sign, in another post, with a large smile and a champagne bottle in each hand.
Skenes and Dunne have been baseball’s hottest couple since he broke into the league in 2024.
The couple started dating while they were in college, with Dunne competing for the LSU gymnastics team and Skenes pitching on the baseball team.
Skenes confirmed the pair were dating in an August 2023 interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
