By Kevin Kelly
The Cincinnati Enquirer

The unselfishness of a teammate helped make Thursday a night to remember for Danny Graves.

The Reds' closer pitched a perfect ninth inning for his record 149th career save in a Cincinnati uniform.

"There have been a lot of relievers that have gone in and out of this organization, especially closers," said Graves, who leads the majors with 18 saves this season. "Everybody has had their shots, but they haven't had a chance to stick around very long.

"Fortunately I've been here long enough to have a shot at it. And I'm so glad it's over."

Starter Paul Wilson essentially pulled himself after the eighth inning, despite having thrown just 89 pitches and allowing one run on three hits, so Graves could have a chance at the record.

"That's an attribute to the kind of team player he is," Graves said. "A lot of guys want to go through complete games these days."

Graves tied John Franco with his 148th save on Sunday in Los Angeles. The nerves increased in the days that followed. "I can't describe the feeling in my stomach the last few days," Graves said. "Hopefully I'll never have that feeling again."