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.

I was informed that #Nats RHP Stephen Starsburg will not partisipate in the postseason once he is shut down. #MLB

— William Ladson (@washingnats) August 12, 2012

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.

The Nationals have an MLB-leading team ERA of 3.22 this season. Washington will rely on the foursome of Gio Gonzalez, Jordan Zimmermann, Edwin Jackson and Ross Detwiler during the playoffs.

Chien Ming Wang is back in the Nationals rotation after a return from injury. (Kevin C. Cox, Getty Images)

Chien Ming Wang will return to the starting rotation for the Washington Nationals, taking the place of Ross Detwiler, according to The Washington Post.

Nationals Manager Davey Johnson said the move was made because of Wang’s superior track record, in addition to Detwiler’s pitching being better suited to a spot as a reliever. From the Washington Post:

“It would be very hard for me to have a 19-game winner who’s come back from arm surgery and to have him in the bullpen,” Johnson said. “Here’s a guy who’s been in pennant fights. He knows what the pressure is all about. So it’s a good opportunity for him and for us to be in the role he’s accustomed to, and that’s starting. It doesn’t lessen the fact that I think Detwiler is a heck of a pitcher.”

Detwiler started off the season well, but has allowed 16 earned runs over his last four starts.