Injuries force Bichette to withdraw from AFL

Turner's go-ahead 2-run triple DENVER -- The Nationals anticipated they would be the ones playing meaningful games at this point in the year and gearing up for even more important games next month. They will head home for the winter instead, but first they have a grand opportunity to play spoiler during this three-game series in Colorado.

The Nationals could not prevent the Rockies from celebrating Friday night, however, as Washington dropped the series opener, 5-2, to allow Colorado to clinch a postseason berth for the second straight season.

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Even though the Nats collected 11 hits and a walk against Rockies left-hander Kyle Freeland, they failed to capitalize on those…