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The special bonds that baseball players form with young fans are often the most beautiful and heartening stories the sport provides. They prove that sometimes this is more than simply a game, that it means something deeply felt, and that these relationships can be life changing on both ends.

Anthony Castrovince brings you the uplifting story of Dylan Crews and Aubrey White, an 11-year-old girl from Baton Rouge, La., who has a non-verbal form of autism. Aubrey’s parents, Crystal and Robbie, were always concerned about her making friends, but they never could have imagined that she’d one day have a true, genuine buddy in a big league ballplayer.

The story begins in the Whites’ living room with an LSU baseball game on the television and Aubrey sitting in front of it. Two very clear words come out of her mouth: “Dylan Crews.”

“Up to that point she hadn’t said I love you, even though she loves us. She hadn’t said daddy, Robbie, mommy, Crystal,” Robbie White said. “And then she said Dylan Crews clear as a bell. Nobody would believe us if we didn’t have evidence of it.”

The video of that moment found its way to Crews, who was so moved he invited the family to an LSU game, beginning a relationship that has only grown through the years and has now made it to Washington.

Aubrey became an instant baseball fan after meeting Crews and feeling immediately comfortable around him. These days she plays in an adaptive baseball league, and Crews has traveled to see her games. He’s been a significant presence in her life, but it has worked just as much in reverse. When times are bad for Crews, from a baseball standpoint or otherwise, he thinks of Aubrey and it picks him up.

Their friendship takes on added resonance during Autism Acceptance Month, and with the Nationals’ big league platform now behind him, Crews is putting in the work to make sure other children with special needs feel the same type of warm embrace that Aubrey has.

“She’s an amazing child,” Crews said, and in the Nats rookie, she has found an amazing friend. As her dad tells it, kids in the hallway of her school will point at Aubrey as she passes by.

“But they’re not pointing to make fun of her,” he said. “They were pointing and they were saying, ‘That’s Dylan Crews’ friend, Aubrey.’”

— Scott Chiusano

April 23 is something of a national holiday in the baseball realm, a day to celebrate an iconic, perhaps once-in-a-lifetime feat. Twenty-six years ago, Fernando Tatis (the elder) hit two grand slams in one inning … against the same pitcher, Chan Ho Park. Some pretty complex numbers-crunching by our research team tells us that the odds of this happening are 12 million to one. That’s right. Or as Mark McGwire, who was batting in front of Tatis that day, put it: “You’ve got a better chance of winning the lottery.” But don’t count on that, either.

• Dodgers @ Cubs (7 p.m. ET, MLB.TV, MLB Network Showcase): How do you follow up an early contender for game of the year? The Dodgers and Cubs meet tonight for the final time this (regular) season, on the heels of the kind of heart-stopping win that’s become commonplace for the North Siders. Chicago boasts the best run differential in the game (+42), but keep an eye on the Dodgers’ Tommy Edman, who hit one of his 15 career homers against the Cubs last night.

• Brewers @ Giants (9:45 p.m. ET, MLB.TV): Brewers pitchers held former teammate Willy Adames in check last night and coasted thanks to four hits from Brice Turang, who has quietly put himself among the NL’s batting leaders (.337). Whether that average is sustainable or not, his speed (8 steals) certainly is, and it fits well on a club with more stolen bases than all but one other club. Even with Brewers ace Freddy Peralta on the hill tonight, the Giants have reason for optimism: They’re an MLB-best 13-2 this year vs. righty starters.

• Rangers @ Athletics (10:05 p.m. ET, MLB.TV): As Theo DeRosa noted this week, it’s never too early to break down a Rookie of the Year race, and this game has candidates in both dugouts. The Rangers’ Kumar Rocker is coming off by far the best of his seven big league starts, and Jacob Wilson (.337) will likely be joined in the A’s lineup by top prospect Nick Kurtz, set to make his debut after slugging .655 in 84 Triple-A at-bats this year.

We try to highlight players’ creativity here, and that usually means their conscious choices to show a bit of flair. But last night, left-hander Michael Sansone’s fashion statement wasn’t by design: The reliever entered Single-A Salem’s game against Hickory with the wrong jersey. It wasn’t until he reached the mound and was surrounded by blue-clad teammates that Sansone realized his red uni didn’t quite match. Sansone was no turncoat, but rules are rules; if he wanted to close out the game, he’d need to wear blue. Lucky for him, a friend in the Salem dugout literally took the shirt off his back, and Sansone was good to go. Three outs later, he’d finished the job, no worse for wear.

Elsewhere, Bryce Harper revealed the gender of his next child with a blue bat earlier this month, and unsurprisingly, he may have started a trend. After calling timeout last night to put on a pink wristband, the Guardians’ Steven Kwan helped teammate David Fry announce that he and wife Rebekah are expecting their second girl. Tim Stebbins has more on the reveal, the brainchild (sorry) of Kwan’s wife, Samantha.

— Tom Vourtsis

For all the obscure stats whizzes out there, this one’s for you. See how well you can compare players and their stats before the timer runs out. Three strikes and you’re out! Play free >>

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