Paul Skenes humiliated in New York as Livvy Dunne’s MLB star boyfriend is removed after nighmare first inning

Paul Skenes endured the biggest embarrasment of his career so far as he was taken out of the first game of the 2026 season after just two-thirds of an inning.

Skenes, who is dating the famous influencer Livvy Dunne, lasted only 37 pitches into his opening day start for the Pittsburgh Pirates, recording two outs but conceding five runs and hitting Francisco Alvarez with a wayward pitch.

It prompted manager Don Kelly to remove the 23-year-old from the game, leaving Skenes looking shellshocked after the lonely walk back to the dugout.

It had been a dream start for the Pirates when Brandon Lowe hit a two-run home run at the top of the first, seemingly leaving Skenes perfectly poised to protect his team’s early lead.

But from the very start, he didn’t seem comfortable. He wasn’t helped by center fielder Oneil Cruz, who made two errors in the outfield that allowed the Mets to get runs on the board. One was a misstep and then, after the next pitch, he lost the ball in the sun. 

‘Yeah really tough inning for us,’ Kelly said to NBC after the first inning. ‘It’s pitch-count related really, for him. I don’t want to push him into the mid-40s.’ 

Skenes only lasted 37 pitches and two-thirds of an inning against the New York Mets

The 23-year-old couldn’t recapture the commanding presence on the mound he is known for

There were, however, no injury concerns for Skenes, in what was the only piece of good news after his early exit. 

Skenes was in a bullish mood going into the game, telling his team to aim for the playoffs.

‘We want to win the division. We want to make the playoffs. That’s it. How we do that, who knows?’ the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner said Wednesday.

‘I don’t want to put a number of games out there because that´s just putting a ceiling on us. We’ve got to go out there and play well every day. We have a good team. Now we’ve got to go out there and win.’

Less than 24 hours later and Skenes was left picking up the ruins of his Opening Day catastrophe. 

‘It’s a bit of a nightmare, you’d be hoping he cleans up five or six innnings,’ ex-MLB pitcher Adam Ottavino said on commentary. ‘You’ve got to move on, you have to move on.’ 

Skenes’ girlfriend Dunne is usually in the stands for every game he starts for the Pirates but it was unclear if she made it to New York, where she recently bought a $3m apartment in Manhattan’s West Village, for his latest game. 

Baseball star Skenes, 23, is dating the hugely famous influencer Olivia Dunne

Dunne was celebrating the start of the new season before Skenes had a nightmare 

In an exclusive interview with Daily Mail during Super Bowl week, Dunne said her goal for the 2026 season was to attend every start Skenes makes for the Pirates. 

But she has recently been in California, where she is filming for her hugely anticipated acting debut in the remake of Baywatch. 

Dunne did send a shoutout to Skenes, and baseball fans everywhere else in the United States, on Thursday morning when she shared a new picture on her Instagram story with the caption: ‘Happy opening day to those who celebrate.’