Hellickson to start Saturday, Roark on Sunday (Nats down 7-5)

ATLANTA - Jeremy Hellickson said he only thinks of himself as a starter, not a reliever. And the Nationals will let the veteran right-hander do what he's always done - for at least the time being.

Hellickson will start Saturday afternoon's game against the Braves, his first game appearance since he sprained his right wrist exactly one month earlier.

Manager Davey Martinez had options for the rest of this weekend's series, but he chose Hellickson over rookie Jefry Rodriguez for Saturday's game, citing both Hellickson's track record and the Nationals' desire to limit Rodriguez's innings the rest of the way.

"It worked out perfect," Martinez said. "We're very comfortable with Hellickson. He feels good. So he'll get a chance to start tomorrow."

Tanner Roark, meanwhile, will start Sunday's series finale, an assignment that could have gone to Erick Fedde because both right-handers will be on schedule after pitching in Tuesday's doubleheader in Philadelphia.

Hellickson returned from a four-week stint on the disabled list with no clear idea how he'd fit in to the Nationals' late-season pitching plans. With club officials wanting to get a good look at Fedde and Joe Ross down the stretch as they decide whether one or both are worthy of spots in the 2019 rotation, Hellickson looked like he could be the odd man out.

That wouldn't have sat particularly well with the 31-year-old, who has made only one relief appearance in the last eight seasons.

"No, that's not something I want to do," Hellickson said Wednesday when asked about the possibility of pitching out of the bullpen. "I want to start. I want to get a few more starts in. I'm a starter. I've never come out of the bullpen. I feel, especially (since) we've got a lot of guys down there already, like I said, I'm a starter. So I don't think that's really something that I want to do. I'd love to get a few more starts."

There's no guarantee Hellickson will get another start after Saturday, but he'll have a chance to pick up where he left off before he got hurt, when he was 5-3 with a 3.57 ERA in 18 starts.

Rodriguez, meanwhile, is available to pitch in long relief this weekend. At some point, though, it appears the Nationals want to get a sense of how the lanky right-hander would handle a short relief role, keeping that option open for the long term.

"If we need him for one or two innings, we might try it," Martinez said. "I'd like to see what that really looks like, if he comes out throwing 100 mph it would be nice. ...

"I try to talk to him before each game and try to tell him what our plans are for him that day. So when it arises, and I have told him before: 'We might use you for one or two innings. If that's the case, just go out there and let it go. See what happens.'"

Update: It's really muggy here in Atlanta tonight. How muggy? Enough that make Max Scherzer sweat all the way through his hat and jersey by the second inning. He had to change hats in mid-inning, and it appears he changed jerseys in between innings. Through all that, the Braves have really made him work. Scherzer has had to pitch with runners in scoring position in each of his first three innings. He got out of the first unscathed. He could not get out of the second or third. Ronald Acuña Jr., batting with two outs and the bases loaded, blooped a two-run single into shallow right field in the bottom of the second. Then Tyler Flowers sent a ground ball just in between Anthony Rendon and Trea Turner to bring home two more runs in the bottom of the third. That put the Braves up 4-2, but then Juan Soto and Wilmer Difo got the Nats right back in it in the top of the fourth. Soto led off the inning with another opposite-field homer, his 20th. A few minutes later, Difo drove a double off the wall in right-center to bring home Ryan Zimmerman and tie the game up again. It's 4-4 in a wild one.

Update II: This just wasn't Scherzer's night. Whether it was the muggy conditions, or whether he was feeling ill, or some combination of the two or something else, he just didn't have it. The Braves scored six runs off Scherzer in four innings, forcing him to throw 102 pitches. And so he's done for the night. The Nats trail 6-4.

Update III: The Braves extended their lead to 7-4 with a sixth-inning run off Austen Williams. The Nats got it right back in the seventh when Bryce Harper's grounder to short brought home Adam Eaton from third. So they trail 7-5 at the stretch.