Pirates’ ace Paul Skenes dazzled in the Midsummer Classic as he started for the National League. For what it’s worth, he has been established as the youngest pitcher to ever start two consecutive All-Star games. “I don’t imagine the scenario where I would turn down starting the All-Star Game,” he said a day before. When manager Don Kelly announced the news, with a bottle of champagne in one hand, Skenes was barely surprised. After all, he hadn’t made any plans for the All-Star break anyway.

He started off by taking the Detroit Tigers’ second baseman, Gleyber Torres. The right-hander threw five four-seam fastballs with his final pitch spiking to around 100 mph. He also received run support in the first inning from his fellow NL batters—Shohei Ohtani and Ronald Acuna Jr., who hit back-to-back singles, giving the NL a 2-0 lead.

And, while he had backing on the field, Skenes wasn’t short of support off it either. Olivia Dunne, his longtime girlfriend, who wouldn’t miss the Paul-Star game for the world, had a 3-word cute plea to see more of her boyfriend on the mound. “Another inning PLZ?!🙏” she noted on X, rallying right behind him. However, the post obviously had no influence on Dodgers’ manager Dave Roberts. Right after Skenes’ flawless inning, he was pulled out for Clayton Kershaw.

Despite having a brief outing, Skenes still managed to impress the league in his second All-Star appearance at just 23. Meanwhile, Livvy wasn’t just in the spotlight for cheering on her boyfriend.  She possibly had an all-girls night out with Chelsea Freeman, the wife of Dodgers star Freddie Freeman. Chelsea even posted a picture of them posing together glamorously, as she called Livvy her “new bestie.”

Well, coming back to Skenes, his name is again written into the annals of MLB history.

Paul Skenes makes history in his second ASG outing

Skenes had one historic outing on Tuesday night, where he pitched a stunning first inning for the NL, striking out Detroit Tigers’ Riley Greene and Gleyber Torres. Soon enough, he retired Yankees’ star Aaron Judge on a ground ball to end the AL first inning.

Even last year, during his first All-Star game appearance as a rookie, Skenes started for the NL and pitched a scoreless first inning, allowing no hits with just one walk. And after his second All-Star game appearance on Tuesday night, Elias Sports Bureau noted that Skenes is one of only five major leaguers who have started in the All-Star game in each of their first two big league years.

What stands out is how much the event means to him. “The All-Star Game is something that I was lucky enough to do last year.” He added, “It’s just such a huge honor to be on this stage and play with all these unbelievable players, some of them that I’ve watched for years,” Skenes said on Monday.

On Tuesday night, Skenes’ two strikeouts were posted at 100 mph. He threw 14 pitches, out of which 13 were fastballs. In the entire All-Star history, he is the first to deliver four pitches of over 100 mph in a single game. Moreover, he’s also the first pitcher to make back-to-back starts in the Midsummer Classic since 2018. It was a great night for the Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander in all ways possible.