WASHINGTON — Washington Nationals manager Davey Johnson says Stephen Strasburg could miss his final two or three turns in the rotation during the regular season.

In his first full season following elbow ligament replacement surgery, Strasburg is 15-5 with a 2.85 ERA and a National League-leading 183 strikeouts. The 24-year-old right-hander has thrown 145 1-3 innings, and the Nationals are thought to have given him a limit of 160-180.

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

Washington began the day with a seven-game lead in the NL East, putting the city on track for postseason play for the first time since 1933.

(© Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)