Strasburg officially penciled in to start Game 4

After being ruled out due to sickness Tuesday, Washington Nationals right-hander Stephen Strasburg is now starting Wednesday's rescheduled Game 4 of the NLDS against the Chicago Cubs.

It's a complete about-face for Dusty Baker and the Nationals, who had scheduled Tanner Roark to take the mound in a game that could eliminate them from the playoffs. Roark was going to start Tuesday before the contest was postponed due to rain. The postponement gives Strasburg his typical four days' rest between starts.

The Cubs consequently decided to replace Kyle Schwarber in the lineup, electing instead to go with Jason Heyward, according to NBC Sports' Patrick Mooney.

Shortly before the update, the 29-year-old's agent, Scott Boras, told MLB Network's Jon Morosi that Strasburg could potentially make an appearance.

"He was ill yesterday, but - health dependent - I wouldn't rule anything out," Boras said.

Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo appeared on the "Sports Junkies" radio show Wednesday morning and defended the team's co-ace from allegations that Strasburg is soft.

"(He's) attempting to put his balls on the line," Rizzo said, according to Tony Andracki of NBC Sports.

Rizzo added, "He wanted to pitch. What he told Mike Maddux was he'll give us everything he has. He's not sure how much that is and how long he can go."

Strasburg nearly pitched the Nationals to a Game 1 victory. He went seven strong innings, allowing two unearned runs on three hits while striking out 10 Cubs. He didn't even allow a hit until the sixth, but the Nationals couldn't get anything going against Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks.

No pitcher in the National League was better than Strasburg in the second half of the season. In only 62 2/3 innings, he accumulated 2.7 WAR while going 6-1 with a 0.86 ERA.