Pirates' Paul Skenes, Livvy Dunne Attend Home Run Derby

Cruz starred in his appearance, hitting 21 home runs in the first round, tied for the most in the period along with Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Junior Caminero.

He also hit six of the seven furthest home runs in the first round, including one home run for 513 feet. That home run ranks tied for the fourth longest home run in the Home Run Derby since 2016 and tied for the farthest since 2016, excluding Coors Field in Denver, home of the Colorado Rockies in 2021, which gives batters added help due to the high elevation.

Cruz lost to the eventual Home Run Derby Champion, Seattle Mariners catcher/designated hitter Cal Raleigh in the second round. Raleigh hit 19 home runs and Cruz hit 13 home runs, hitting the sixth-farthest balls in the round.

He is the first Pirates player ever to make the second round, with the first six contestants not doing so, and his 34 home runs are the most for a Pirates batter in the Home Run Derby.

Skenes and Dunne took a private jet following the final Pirates series against the Minnesota Twins at Target Field, July 11-13, while Cruz and his family and his came along as well.

This marks the second All-Star appearance for Skenes and his second straight season starting for the National League. He is the first pitcher ever that started both All-Star games in their first two seasons and one of five players ever that started back-to-back All-Star games at the beginning of their career.

Skenes has a poor record, 4-8 over 20 starts in 2025, but the Pirates offense has only scored more than five runs in four of his outings so far.

He ranks amongst the best pitchers in baseball, first in ERA (2.01), tied for third in opposing batting average (.189), tied for fifth in WHIP (0.93) and innings pitched (121.0), plus eighth in strikeouts (131).

Dunne is regularly at Skenes' starts, coming to PNC Park or traveling all over and watching him pitch.

The two started dating at LSU, where Skenes won a National Title in 2023 and Dunne starred as a gymnast, before retiring after this most recent season. The duo also featured in GQ magazine, with the couple wearing designer clothes and taking photos in a rare snowstorm in Baton Rouge.

Skenes and Dunne will feature at the All-Star Red Carpet on July 15 at 2:00 p.m. before starting at 8:00 p.m.