Report: Stephen Strasburg innings limit to shut down Nationals P for playoffs

Nationals' starter Stephen Strasburg will be held out of postseason play after he is shut down when he reaches his "innings limit," MLB.com's William Ladson reported on Twitter Sunday.

The Nationals had already made their decision in July to shut down Strasburg after he reaches a specific number of innings pitched. Washington sits atop the National League East — four games ahead of the Atlanta Braves — and much of that has been due to the consistency of Strasburg in his first full season in the majors.

Strasburg is 13-5 with a 2.90 ERA in 23 games. He has 166 strikeouts and just 38 walks. He pitched six innings in a 9-1 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday, bringing his season total to 133 1/3 innings.

Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said Friday that the plan is to shut down Strasburg sometime in September. Rizzo denied reports that the limit was set for 180 innings.