Mark Madden: Pirates have opportunity to win now with Paul Skenes, but will they follow through?

Paul Skenes’ performance at the MLB All-Star Game was anticlimactic.

The Pittsburgh Pirates’ rookie pitching phenom did face Aaron Judge after walking Juan Soto. Unintentionally, no matter what conspiracy theorists think.

But that “big on big” matchup wasn’t too big: One pitch, fielder’s choice. (That’s good for Skenes’ pitch count.)

Skenes did dominate. But no strikeouts.

It was a different sort of domination. Skenes faced great hitters, and they were flailing.

The leadoff batter was Steven Kwan, MLB’s leading hitter at .352. Kwan looked like he had zero idea what to do. He seemed grateful to pop out on the fourth pitch. He just didn’t want to strike out.

Skenes didn’t overthrow. He was calm, collected and in control.

Bethel Park native Mason Miller brought the crazy velocity. The Oakland reliever uncorked a 103.6 mph heater, fastest in All-Star Game history. He whiffed Shohei Ohtani and Trea Turner. Miller got the win for the American League.

Miller pitched the inning we figured Skenes would have.

Now it’s back to business, with the Pirates hosting Philadelphia on Friday. It’s the first game of a three-game series against the team with baseball’s best record. The Pirates are 48-48 and 1½ games out of the National League’s last wild-card spot.

The remainder of the Pirates’ season will be interesting and probably very frustrating.

As this space has noted, there likely won’t be any meaningful acquisitions before the July 30 MLB trade deadline. There might be a token get. But nothing that ups payroll much, significantly upgrades the lineup or involves moving legit prospects.

The Pirates will likely shed reliever Aroldis Chapman’s $10.5 million contract. It would be unsurprising — and hilarious — if the Pirates had a lower payroll after the trade deadline than they do now. That would be so Pirates.

This coming offseason is when the Pirates will spend. Next year is the year. Ha. Yeah. Keep telling yourself that.

Of equal intrigue is how the Pirates handle their pitching the rest of the current campaign.

What if they’re still in the NL wild-card race and they shut down Skenes and/or Jared Jones?

What if they start skipping starts with Skenes and/or Jones?

Fast forward to the season’s last game Sept. 29 at the New York Yankees. The Pirates make the playoffs if they win, miss the playoffs if they lose.

The Pirates lead 1-0 after seven innings. Skenes is pitching. He’s dealing: Two hits allowed, 11 strikeouts. His velocity is still cracking 100 mph, his command sharp.

But Skenes has thrown 100-plus pitches and racked up a lot of innings on the season, so the Pirates pull him.

That could happen. Any of that crazy stuff could easily occur.

Because pitch count and protecting arms has superseded trying to win. The pitcher’s welfare comes first. His earning power. Player power. Agent power.

The Pirates might claim that they want to reap Skenes’ benefits over the long haul.

That’s a laugh. The Pirates won’t have Skenes for the long haul. They know that. They’re protecting his arm for whatever team ultimately gives Skenes the huge cash that the Pirates won’t and the chance to win that the Pirates can’t.

Every team goes overboard protecting its pitchers’ arms. Yet arm problems are epidemic.

Perhaps arm problems are random or genetic. Something that can’t be controlled.

It’s incredible that winning takes a back seat.

If the Pirates could make the playoffs and win a series, but one of their three best starters would need Tommy John surgery after, I’d take that deal.

I’d bet, despite all the precautions, that Skenes, Jones and/or Mitch Keller end up having Tommy John surgery at some point. At least one of them.

Ex-Pirate Jameson Taillon has had Tommy John surgery twice. It’s not like his pitch count and innings were handled haphazardly or his arm abused. Taillon just had bad luck. (He also had surgery for a hernia and for testicular cancer. Lower pitch count would not have prevented either.)

I’d love to inject Skenes with truth serum and ask him if he’d rather pitch more and win now or if he wants his arm (and long-term money) protected. I don’t doubt Skenes’ competitiveness, but I’d guess he’d pick the latter.

The NL is weak. Opportunity is knocking. It doesn’t often set foot on the Pirates’ doorstep.

TRY. TO. WIN. NOW.