Braves closer grabs memorable souvenir

After the Braves took a ninth-inning lead over the Dodgers in their 5-1 victory in Game 1 of the NLCS on Monday night, closer Mark Melancon began warming up to come in the game in the bottom half and preserve his team's lead. But Atlanta wasn't done yet. They wanted more.

Ronald Acu?a Jr. doubled and then Marcell Ozuna singled him in to make it 3-1. OK, maybe that was it. A two-run lead was a good margin for a veteran closer like Melancon. But again, nope. The Braves were hungry for runs.

Ozzie Albies stepped up to the plate with Ozuna on base and, finally, he gave the signal that the Braves were ready for Melancon to come into the game: He crushed a two-run dinger over the left-field wall right into the closer's glove, almost saying, "The ball is yours, Mark. Come finish this." It's one of the coolest things you'll ever see.

Although it wasn't a save situation any longer, Melancon came into the game and protected the four-run lead -- getting the Dodgers in order in the bottom of the ninth.