Paul Skenes felt the wrath of an MLB umpire on Tuesday night after a fairly harmless mistake.
The Pittsburgh Pirates rookie thought he had struck out the Cubs’ Seiya Suzuki with two outs in the first inning, and walked off the mound following a fastball.
But umpire Doug Eddings deemed the pitch to be outside – and was incensed with Skenes stepping off the mound – which he angrily told Pirates manager Derek Shelton.
‘He started to walk off the mound like he thinks it’s a strike,’ he appeared to say, before adding, ‘you talk to him then.’
Skenes had initially been smiling after the mishap before he noticed how angry Eddings was about the sequence, which wiped the grin off of his face.
Paul Skenes initially found his mishap funny – until he realized how angry the umpire was
Doug Eddings berated Pirates manager Derek Shelton after Skenes stepped off the mound
Skenes believed he had struck out the Cubs’ Seiya Suzuki to end the first inning
Skenes ultimately pitched five scoreless innings as the Pirates went on to win 5-0.
He’s had a brilliant rookie year, as he currently has a 2.13 ERA and was named to the NL All-Star team earlier this summer.
His girlfriend, social media star and LSU gymnast Olivia Dunne, has been there to support him as she’s been seen cheering him on at several of his games.
The couple also appeared together at MLB All-Star Weekend as they walked the red carpet.
There, Dunne revealed her astonishment at just how hard Skenes can pitch.
‘My brain can’t even process how hard he throws,’ she said on the red carpet. ‘It’s incredible and it’s such a joy to watch.
Skenes and Dunne walked arm in arm on the red carpet prior to the MLB All-Star Game in July
Skenes met Dunne through a friend who dated one of the gymnast’s LSU teammates
‘He’s a great baseball player, but an ever better person.’
Dunne is preparing for a fifth and final season at LSU and recently posted footage of her preseason training to Instagram.
She shared a clip late last month captioned ‘I will survive pre-szn’ three times, as showed off an array of exercises performed at ENA Gymnastics in Paramus, New Jersey.
Her gymnastics season will begin in the winter.
***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk