Nationals' Jeremy Hellickson: Blanks Pirates in no-decision

Hellickson allowed three hits and struck out four across 5.2 scoreless innings Thursday against the Pirates, but he didn't factor into the decision.

Hellickson was sharp Thursday -- tossing 44 of his 61 pitches for strikes -- but he failed to make it out of the sixth inning for the fourth time in as many starts as manager Davey Martinez continues to limit his exposure to lineups the third time through the order. The 31-year-old had retired 13 consecutive batters before leadoff man Adam Frazier poked a single up the middle in his third at-bat, immediately prompting Martinez to make the call to the bullpen. While the veteran right-hander now owns a respectable 3.00 ERA through 21 innings (four starts) this season, his lackluster 13:4 K:BB -- coupled with the fact that he often isn't trusted to work late into games -- limits his fantasy value. Hellickson, who is still searching for his first win of the season, figures to make his next start Tuesday against the Padres.