The Detroit Tigers were looking for any advantage they could find while facing Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes on Thursday.
Skenes started the second game of the Pirates’ doubleheader against the Tigers at Comerica Park in Detroit, Mi. on Thursday. During the bottom of the second inning, the Tigers’ mascow, Paws, made his way down to the seats right behind home plate in a bid to distract Skenes.
The mascot was holding a sign that read “Sup Livvy Dunne,” with hearts drawn all over it. Dunne and Skenes have been dating since 2023.
— Evan Petzold (@EvanPetzold) June 19, 2025
Skenes was not terribly put off by the sign. He issued a walk in the second inning, but struck out two and did not allow a run. After that, both Paws and the sign disappeared, seemingly giving up on the effort.
At this point, Skenes is used to the attention, and it has not bothered him yet. He entered Thursday’s start with a league-leading 1.78 ERA and showed no signs of slowing down. The Tigers and their mascot are going to have to do a lot better than this if they are actually going to trip him up.
