SAN DIEGO -- The Padres are going for a knockout.

Right-hander Dylan Cease will take the ball on short rest for Game 4 of the National League Division Series on Wednesday night, manager Mike Shildt announced in the aftermath of the Padres¡¯ 6-5 victory over the Dodgers on Tuesday night in Game 3 at Petco Park.

Cease, who was one of the Padres¡¯ best pitchers during the regular season, has never started a game on three days¡¯ rest in his career.

¡°I¡¯m looking forward to it,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯m excited. I¡¯ve never done it but that doesn¡¯t really mean anything to me. Doesn¡¯t mean I can¡¯t do it.¡±

Cease threw only 82 pitches in Game 1 -- an uncharacteristically rough outing for the 28-year-old right-hander. He allowed five runs over 3 1/3 innings, with three of those coming on a Shohei Ohtani home run. Prior to that start, Cease hadn¡¯t pitched in nine days.

¡°Physically, I feel great,¡± Cease said. ¡°I¡¯ve told them I want to just treat it like it¡¯s a normal start. I feel good.¡±

The Padres had a vacancy for Game 4, after right-hander Joe Musgrove sustained a torn UCL in his right elbow during his start against the Braves in Game 2 of the NL Wild Card Series. With Musgrove set to undergo Tommy John surgery, San Diego added left-hander Mart¨ªn P¨¦rez to the NLDS roster. P¨¦rez was an option to start Game 4 (and he still might be an option to pitch in relief).

• FAQ: Dodgers-Padres NLDS Game 4

But Cease was one of the best pitchers in the National League this season, posting a 3.47 ERA and a 3.10 FIP across 33 starts. He struck out 224 hitters, one shy of Chris Sale¡¯s NL lead. With a chance to clinch, the Padres aren¡¯t messing around.

¡°Dylan's ready to go,¡± Shildt said. ¡°And we'll see how many bullets he's got. Had his head around it, and [we] discussed it with him, and he was enthusiastic about it.¡±

As Shildt noted, it seems likely the Padres wouldn¡¯t ask for serious length from Cease. In Game 3, they used all four of their highest-leverage arms -- Robert Suarez, Tanner Scott, Jason Adam and Jeremiah Estrada. But all four dominated, and none reached the 20-pitch mark. With an off-day Monday and another scheduled off-day for Thursday (if the Dodgers force a Game 5), all four should be available.

Because of that Thursday off-day, right-hander Yu Darvish almost certainly would line up to start Game 5 at Dodger Stadium on Friday night, if necessary. Darvish pitched seven innings of one-run ball on Sunday in a Game 2 victory.