Nationals’ Hellickson likely to return Saturday

Jeremy Hellickson half-chuckled Monday when asked about his rehabilitation outing for High-A Potomac the previous day. That always-ominous phrase, “The results weren’t what you wanted, but . . .” was included in the question. Hellickson allowed 11 runs on nine hits in 42⁄ innings. “Not what you wanted” was an understatement.

“Physically, I felt fine,” he said. “I mean, obviously not how I wanted it to go, but I felt fine. Felt my stuff was pretty good. Just commandwasalittle shaky, but [my] hammywas 100 percent.”

Hellickson strained his right hamstring June 3 in Atlanta and has been on the disabled list since. He said the pain in the hamstring subsided shortly after that game against the Braves, and he believed he didn’t even need a rehab outing to begin with. The Nationals, however, tend to hold their players back a little longer whenever they say they are ready. In Hellickson’s case, the 83 pitches he threw Sunday — and the fact that he felt healthy in their aftermath Monday — were enough to convince the Nationals that he is ready to return to the rotation next time through.

“Definitely,” said Washington Manager Dave Martinez, who added that Hellickson will throw a regular betweenstarts bullpen session before jumping back into the rotation.

The Nationals have a day off Wednesday, which means they could skip the fifth starter’s spot all together. They will not do that, according to people familiar with the situation. Instead, they plan to give all five starters an extra day of rest. Hellickson will start Saturday in Philadelphia if everything holds.