Pirates' Paul Skenes limits Reds' offense and gets his 1st win of 2026

CINCINNATI (AP) — Paul Skenes quicklyshrugged off the shortest startof his dominant major league career.

Pirates Reds Baseball

Pirates fans shouldn't worry either after Skenes returned to form on Wednesday.

The reigning NL Cy Young winner allowed one run in five innings and struck out five in thePirates' 8-3 winover the Cincinnati Reds.

"I'm pretty insulated from a lot of stuff that's out there. The stuff that I do see or hear, I don't really care anyway because it doesn't have anything to do with the play. I'm just thinking about getting back to execution and executing my pitches," Skenes said. "Nothing matters except for the game and the pitches."

Skenes walked Cincinnati's TJ Friedl, then retired eight straight, including three strikeouts. He walked Friedl twice in three innings before Elly De La Cruz singled for the Reds' first hit. Two batters later, Nathaniel Lowe doubled in De La Cruz, ending Skenes' 31-inning scoreless streak against Cincinnati.

Skenes' scoreless run was the fourth-longest by a Pirates pitcher against an opponent since 1961. Vernon Law holds the mark, blanking the Mets for 40 innings during 1965-66.

The right-hander retired four of the last five batters he faced and departed after throwing 77 pitches, including 51 strikes.

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"Definitely progress. Nice to get some volume and be out there for more than two-thirds," said Skenes, who improved to 5-0 with a 0.53 ERA in six career starts against the Reds. He has 45 strikeouts and only four walks while holding Cincinnati to a .197 batting average.

Further helping Skenes, the Pirates gave strong run support, scoring three in the first on Oneil Cruz's homer to right.

"With Skenes on the mound, you hate to give them anything early because you know you're going to have to fight to get anything you can get," Reds manager Terry Francona said.

Manager Don Kelly said he wanted to avoid overworking Skenes early, especially after his 37-pitch, two-thirds-inning start in the Mets' opening day win on Thursday. Skenes allowed five runs, tying a career high, with two walks and a strikeout in the 11-7 loss.

"When you're going off one outing and 37 pitches, we had targeted 80 for him," Kelly said. "It was something that we need Paul for the long haul, and he did a great job getting through five. As we go, he's going to be throwing more than five (innings) and 77 (pitches)."

Skenes has a 2.10 ERA through his first 57 starts, the fourth-best mark by any pitcher since 1920. It is also the lowest mark by a Pittsburgh hurler in any span of 57 starts since Babe Adams had a 2.06 ERA between 1918 and '20.

AP MLB:https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

byMario Satorik

in

April 01, 2026

Pirates' Paul Skenes limits Reds' offense and gets his 1st win of 2026

CINCINNATI (AP) — Paul Skenes quicklyshrugged off the shortest startof his dominant major league career. Pi...

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White Influencer Called Out After Posting AI Image of Her Face on Black Content Creator's Body

Model Tatiana Elizabeth called out influencer Lauren Blake Boultier for using AI to superimpose her face over Elizabeth's in a photo

NEED TO KNOW

• "Pretending to be somewhere you weren't, in something you've never worn, as someone you're not... for social media. It's a little scary," Elizabeth wrote on her Instagram Stories

• Boultier later told TMZ she took "full responsibility" for the incident

Influencer Lauren Blake Boultier said she takes "full responsibility" after another influencer, Tatiana Elizabeth, accused her of using AI to superimpose her face on Elizabeth's body in a two-year-old photo of herself at the U.S. Open.

After Boultier posted the now-deleted photo on Instagram, Elizabeth posted toThreadsand her Instagram Stories to call out the alleged use of AI to put her face onto Elizabeth's body— and on a photo that Elizabeth first posted two years ago. Boultier, who is White, has over 1.6 million Instagram followers.

In the Monday, March 30, Threads post, Elizabeth shared a screenshot of Bouliter's photo next to her original, taken at the 2024 U.S. Open. In the original photo, Elizabeth, who is Black, wore a white tennis skirt, a white short-sleeved cropped t-shirt, along with a green-and-white striped cardigan tied around her shoulders, paired with a coordinating green and white Louis Vuitton purse.

Boultier's photo shows her in the exact same outfit, pose and lighting, along with the same background.

"Bar for bar," Elizabeth began Monday's Threads post. "The weirdest part about this is that it's not even an AI influencer. This is a real person who used AI to put her head on my body. She geotagged MIAMI as if she's at the Miami Open. When my photo was taken at the US open two years ago."

"Well this is..... peculiar...I was here too!!" Elizabeth continued on herInstagram Stories. "In this same exact outfit and the same watch, same bag, picture was taken at the same angle even..omg we even have the same tattoo!!!!!!?"

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Elizabeth then re-shared the original photo on her Instagram Stories. "Pretending to be somewhere you weren't, in something you've never worn, as someone you're not... for social media. It's a little scary," Elizabeth concluded.

The influencer also shared a TikTok video about the situation, where she added, "And by no means am I trying to bash this girls into health is real, and I'm not a bully... I'm just, I'm a little perplexed."

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"I just want to know what was the reason," Elizabeth continued. "Cause social media got to our heads that much that we are completely disregarding couth?"

"Tatiana hopes this situation raises awareness about how AI can blur reality, which can be unsettling. As of now she has not been in contact with the other party," a rep for Elizabeth tells PEOPLE.

"That shouldn't have happened, and I take full responsibility," Boultier toldTMZ Sportson Wednesday, April 1.

"This came from an A.I. content system my team uses to generate images at scale," Boultier told TMZ. "I did not see the original image or intentionally set out to copy anyone's work, but that doesn't change the outcome."

"I understand this impacted another creator, especially when it comes to respecting original work, and I never want to contribute to that kind of frustration or harm within the creative community that I have been a part of for 10 years," Boultier added.

"I take full responsibility for what appears on my platforms," Boultier wrote in a WednesdayInstagramstatement, in which she also said she spoke with Elizabeth privately to apologize.

"I will have more oversight with my agency to ensure my content is handled with the integirty and respect it deserves moving forward," Boultier continued. "I am deeply sorry for the hurt this has caused the original creator and the community at large."

Also on Wednesday, Elizabeth posted screenshots of two apologies she says Boultier sent her via Instagram DM onThreads, as well as the response she sent to Boultier.

Read the original article onPeople

byMario Satorik

in

April 01, 2026

White Influencer Called Out After Posting AI Image of Her Face on Black Content Creator's Body

Model Tatiana Elizabeth called out influencer Lauren Blake Boultier for using AI to superimpose her face over Elizabeth...

Read More

Courtney Love wants Dave Grohl to tell his fans they're 'cool' now, years after feud: 'Be man enough to man up'

Courtney Lovewants Dave Grohl to call off his fans, whom she says are still giving her a hard time after years of feuding with the Foo Fighters rocker.

"Like come out with it and just say we're cool. Like come out with it. Right?" she said Wednesday onThe Magnificent Others With Billy Corganpodcast. "Be man enough to man up."

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The widow of late Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain has a long history with Grohl, who joined the band in 1990.

Cobaindied in 1994at 27.

Afterward, Grohl and the Hole rocker argued, sometimes over Nirvana, in court.

But both said they had made amends when Nirvana was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014.

"Early on in the evening I just tapped her on the shoulder," Grohl toldRolling Stone. "She turned around and I just said, 'Hey.' She said, 'Hey.' Then we gave each other a big hug. I said, 'How are you?' She goes, 'Good, how are you?' I said, 'All right.' And she said, 'Let's do this. Let's rock this tonight.'"

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He added, "We're family, no matter what. And we all love each other, no matter what."

Love said it's important Grohl say the situation between them remains okay, because he's someone that straight men look up to.

"We're cool, but you won't say it because you're afraid you'll lose your audience?" she asked.

"Dave," Love said, "it would really behoove me if the straight white males that are your base, if you will, stop picking on me. Millennials in particular. Gen Z is not picking on me anymore."

The Smashing Pumpkins frontman confirmed that he, too, had seen that Grohl and Love have smoothed things over.

"I can confirm that I've spent time with you and Dave together," Corgan said, "and Dave doesn't have any issue with you."

Entertainment Weeklyhas reached out to reps for Grohl.

Watch the full conversation above.

Read the original article onEntertainment Weekly

byMario Satorik

in

April 01, 2026

Courtney Love wants Dave Grohl to tell his fans they're 'cool' now, years after feud: 'Be man enough to man up'

Courtney Lovewants Dave Grohl to call off his fans, whom she says are still giving her a hard time after years of feudin...

Read More