Stephen Strasburg will miss his final two or three starts in the regular season, according to Nationals manager Davey Johnson.

Strasburg is 15-5 with a 2.85 ERA and a National League-leading 183 strikeouts in his first full season after undergoing elbow ligament replacement surgery.

The right-hander has thrown 145 1/3 innings. Washington is thought to have given him a limit of 160-180.

"I think it came out that with the off days we'd need another starter for I think two starts," Johnson said after talking with general manager Mike Rizzo. "I think two starts, might have been three."

Johnson also said Strasburg would be shut down for the playoffs, according to the Washington Post. However, Rizzo told the Post the Nationals do not yet have a specific target for ending Strasburg's season.