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Paul Skenes Joins All-Star Game History as Livvy Dunne Watches On

The National League lost on Tuesday night in this year's edition of the All-Star Game, but Pittsburgh Pirates star Paul Skenes did his part, joining some elite All-Star Game history.

Brady Farkas

National League pitcher Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates (30) pitches against the American League in the first inning during the 2024 MLB All-Star game at Globe Life Field on July 16.
National League pitcher Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates (30) pitches against the American League in the first inning during the 2024 MLB All-Star game at Globe Life Field on July 16. / Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
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The National League lost to the American League on Tuesday night during the All-Star Game but it was no fault of Pittsburgh Pirates flamethrower Paul Skenes, who threw a scoreless first inning for the NL.

Skenes retired Steven Kwan of the Guardians and Gunnar Henderson of the Orioles before walking Juan Soto. He then got Aaron Judge of the Yankees to ground out to third base, eliciting a wholesome reaction from superstar girlfriend Livvy Dunne, who was in the crowd.

In addition to his scoreless inning, Skenes also joined a rare group in All-Star Game history.

Per Sarah Langs of MLB.com:

Multiple 100+ mph pitches in first inning of ASG, pitch-tracking era (2008):

2024 Paul Skenes
2018 Chris Sale
2012 Justin Verlander

Skenes features one of the best arms in all of baseball and he's taken the league by storm since making his debut on May 11. Since that debut, he's 6-0 for the Pirates with a 1.90 ERA. He's struck out 89 batters in a whopping 66.1 innings and has the Pirates back to relevance in the National League. Alongside Jared Jones, that duo looks like it could be one of the best in baseball for years to come.

The 22-year-old was taken No. 1 overall in the draft by the Pirates a year ago, and he became the first player to make the All-Star Game in the year after being drafted.

The Pirates are currently 48-48 on the season and they will open up the second half of the season on Friday night against the Philadelphia Phillies.

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Brady Farkas

BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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