District Daily: Doug Fister Pitches After Skin Cancer Removal, Morse Has Fond Memories of Time with Nats

Aug 22, 2014; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Nationals starting pitcher

(58) pitches against the San Francisco Giants in the fifth inning at Nationals Park. The Giants won 10-3. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Start off your weekend with some great Washington Nationals articles from around the web:

Doug Fister pitches after cancer removal

(Adam Kilgore, Washington Post)

After the Nationals’ 10-3 loss to the San Francisco Giants on Friday night, starting pitcher Doug Fister revealed he had recently underwent a procedure to remove cancerous skin from the left side of his neck.

“I had some skin cancer removed a couple days ago,” Fister said. “It had no effect tonight.”

Fister did not say anything further about the operation, other than that he is fine now. Read full article here.

Morse has fond memories of time with Nats

(Bill Ladson and Daniel Popper, MLB.com)

WASHINGTON — Giants outfielder Michael Morse returned to Nationals Park for the first time since the Nationals made him part of a three-team trade that sent him to the Mariners in January 2013.

Morse made his mark in Washington after general manager Mike Rizzo acquired him from the Mariners for outfielder Ryan Langerhans. Morse was the Nationals’ MVP in 2011, when he hit .303 with 31 home runs and 95 RBIs and became popular with the fans in Washington. Read full article here.

Strasburg armed and ready for stretch run

(Bill Ladson and Daniel Popper, MLB.com)

WASHINGTON — Two years ago this month, word started spreading that the Nationals were going to shut down Stephen Strasburg for the season. The team wanted to be cautious after Strasburg’s Tommy John surgery in late 2010, and eventually shut him down Sept. 8, resulting in the right-hander missing the postseason.

At first, Strasburg was upset about being shut down, but he said Friday that the Nationals had his best interest at heart. It also helped that the club had a history of shutting down pitchers who had undergone elbow reconstruction. Right-hander Jordan Zimmermann, for example, was shut down after 161 1/3 innings in 2011. Read full article here.