Soroka allowed four runs over five innings on Tuesday in his first rehab start with Double-A Harrisburg. The 27-year-old righty has been out since late March recovering from a biceps strain. He’ll continue building up his pitch count and should return to Washington’s rotation at some point in May.

Soroka experienced biceps cramps in his start on May 31st and has been on the IL since. He threw a bullpen session over the weekend and is now listed as the starter for Tuesday’s game with Double-A Harrisburg. Given that he has been out for almost a month, he’ll probably require at least one more rehab start before returning to the Nationals’ rotation.

Soroka continues to make steady progress from his right biceps strain, and he’s been able to throw a few bullpens since hitting the injured list April 4. The hope now is that if there are no setbacks from this last session that he can make a rehab start next week. He may need more than one, but a return in early May seems likely.

The injury was originally described by the team as a cramp, but it was obviously a bit more than that. Soroka was due to start Sunday against the Diamondbacks. The Nationals could call up Shinnosuke Ogasawara or someone else to start then or could try to get by with a bullpen day if things go well in their next two games. Jackson Rutledge replaced Soroka on the roster for now.