PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona Diamondbacks nearly snatched another improbable win before heading to the playoffs.

But Matt Kemp grabbed a piece of Dodgers history.

Kemp hit a two-run homer to become the first Dodger in 70 years to lead the NL in home runs and RBIs, and Los Angeles had to withstand another late-inning grand slam to beat the playoff-bound Diamondbacks 7-5 on Wednesday night.

A night after blowing a five-run lead in the 10th inning, the Dodgers held on before heading home while the Diamondbacks take off for Milwaukee and the NL division series.

“I’m glad it didn’t end like last night, that’s for sure,” Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said.

It didn’t matter to the Diamondbacks that it didn’t.

Arizona locked up its NL West title last week, but lost its chance to host the first two games of the NLDS when the Brewers beat Pittsburgh.

Still, the Diamondbacks weren’t ready to concede anything to the Dodgers.

Quiet early in the season finale, Arizona roared back for the second straight night, pulling within two runs in the ninth inning on Cole Gillespie’s grand slam off Ramon Troncosco and Henry Blanco’s solo shot.

Kenley Jansen ended the rally, getting the final two outs for his fifth save, but the Diamondbacks had a more important issue on their minds: Game 1 in Milwaukee on Saturday with ace Ian Kennedy expected to pitch.

“It’s good to finally know who we’re playing,” Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson said. “It’s the next step, we’re going to be ready.”

The Dodgers were pretty much out of the division race by the All-Star break and finished 82-79. They could be busy during postseason awards, though.

Kemp had one of the best seasons in Dodgers history and is a leading candidate for MVP honors. He hit his 39th homer in the seventh inning to pass Milwaukee’s Prince Fielder for the league lead and finished with 126 RBIs, second-most in Los Angeles Dodgers history to Tommy Davis’ 153 in 1962.

Kemp also led the league in runs, finished third in batting at .324 and became the 13th player in major league history – and the first Dodger – with 30 homers and 40 steals.

Dolph Camilli was the last Dodger to lead the league in homers (34) and RBIs (120) on his way to the 1941 NL MVP award.

Left-hander Clayton Kershaw has a good shot at the NL Cy Young Award, too, after leading the league with a 2.25 ERA and 248 strikeouts while matching Arizona’s Kennedy for most wins with 21.

Dodgers infielder Eugenio Velez also made history, but not in a good way. He grounded out as a pinch-hitter in the eighth inning to set a modern-day record for non-pitchers with his 46th straight hitless at-bat.

Velez had been tied with Pittsburgh’s Bill Bergen (1909), Dave Campbell of San Diego and St. Louis (1973) and Milwaukee’s Craig Counsell (this season).

In other words, plenty of bad to go with the good for the Dodgers in a season clouded by a bankruptcy filing and owner Frank McCourt’s troubles.

“We accomplished a lot of things in these past two months,” Kemp said. “We showed we could really play and beat some great teams and beat some great pitchers, too. It’s all about starting out strong and finishing strong.”

Arizona put together an unexpected turnaround season, following two 90-loss seasons by winning 94 games on the way to its first NL West title since 2007. The crowning moment came with Friday’s division-clinching win, a bubbly infused celebration that spilled over into the pool behind the outfield wall in right field.

But there was still some work to do after the splash bash: catch Milwaukee for the NL’s second-best record.

Arizona kept pace with a thrilling win over the Dodgers on Tuesday, when Ryan Roberts hit a walk-off grand slam to cap a six-run 10th inning after the Dodgers went up five in the top half.

Arizona became the second team in major league history – with the Pirates in 1991 – to win after falling behind by five or more runs in an extra inning, according to information provided to the Diamondbacks by the Elias Sports Bureau.

After all that excitement, the Diamondbacks didn’t seem to have much left with the scoreboard showing the Brewers well on their way to a 7-3 win over Pittsburgh to secure home-field advantage for the NLDS.

Arizona managed three hits in seven innings against Ted Lilly (12-14) and Diamondbacks starter Joe Saunders 12-13) allowed five runs and nine hits before leaving after six innings – with most of his teammates.

The atmosphere changed quickly late – again – when Gillespie hit his grand slam and Blanco followed with the homer that chased Troncosco. Arizona couldn’t complete the comeback this time, with Jansen getting Sean Burroughs and John McDonald to fly out, but the Diamondbacks were more interested in looking ahead than behind.

“It should be fun,” Diamondbacks center fielder Chris Young said. “We played good games against those guys all year and I’m sure it’ll be exciting to watch.”

Notes: Arizona led the majors with 501 extra-base hits. … Roberts became the fourth player in history to hit

an extra-inning grand slam with his team trailing by three or more runs with his shot against the Dodgers on Tuesday, according to Elias. Babe Ruth, Roger Freed and Jason Giambi were the others. … Due to a rainout in Washington, the Dodgers failed to play 162 games in a non strike-shortened season for the first time since 1989. … Velez’s last hit was a 12th-inning single off Cesar Ramos on May 18, 2010, against San Diego while playing for the Giants.

PHOENIX (AP)—The Arizona Diamondbacks nearly snatched another improbable
win before heading to the playoffs.

But Matt Kemp(notes) grabbed a piece of Dodgers history.

Kemp hit a two-run homer to become the first Dodger in 70 years to lead the
NL in home runs and RBIs, and Los Angeles had to withstand another late-inning
grand slam to beat the playoff-bound Diamondbacks 7-5 on Wednesday night.

A night after blowing a five-run lead in the 10th inning, the Dodgers held
on before heading home while the Diamondbacks take off for Milwaukee and the NL
division series.

“I’m glad it didn’t end like last night, that’s for sure,” Dodgers manager
Don Mattingly said.

It didn’t matter to the Diamondbacks that it didn’t.

Arizona locked up its NL West title last week, but lost its chance to host
the first two games of the NLDS when the Brewers beat Pittsburgh.

Still, the Diamondbacks weren’t ready to concede anything to the Dodgers.

Quiet early in the season finale, Arizona roared back for the second
straight night, pulling within two runs in the ninth inning on Cole Gillespie’s(notes)
grand slam off Ramon Troncosco and Henry Blanco’s(notes) solo shot.

Kenley Jansen(notes) ended the rally, getting the final two outs for his fifth
save, but the Diamondbacks had a more important issue on their minds: Game 1 in
Milwaukee on Saturday with ace Ian Kennedy(notes) expected to pitch.

“It’s good to finally know who we’re playing,” Diamondbacks manager Kirk
Gibson said. “It’s the next step, we’re going to be ready.”

The Dodgers were pretty much out of the division race by the All-Star break
and finished 82-79. They could be busy during postseason awards, though.

Kemp had one of the best seasons in Dodgers history and is a leading
candidate for MVP honors. He hit his 39th homer in the seventh inning to pass
Milwaukee’s Prince Fielder(notes) for the league lead and finished with 126 RBIs,
second-most in Los Angeles Dodgers history to Tommy Davis’ 153 in 1962.

Kemp also led the league in runs, finished third in batting at .324 and
became the 13th player in major league history—and the first Dodger—with 30
homers and 40 steals.

Dolph Camilli was the last Dodger to lead the league in homers (34) and RBIs
(120) on his way to the 1941 NL MVP award.

Left-hander Clayton Kershaw(notes) has a good shot at the NL Cy Young Award, too,
after leading the league with a 2.25 ERA and 248 strikeouts while matching
Arizona’s Kennedy for most wins with 21.

Dodgers infielder Eugenio Velez(notes) also made history, but not in a good way. He
grounded out as a pinch-hitter in the eighth inning to set a modern-day record
for non-pitchers with his 46th straight hitless at-bat.

Velez had been tied with Pittsburgh’s Bill Bergen (1909), Dave Campbell of
San Diego and St. Louis (1973) and Milwaukee’s Craig Counsell(notes) (this season).

In other words, plenty of bad to go with the good for the Dodgers in a
season clouded by a bankruptcy filing and owner Frank McCourt’s troubles.

“We accomplished a lot of things in these past two months,” Kemp said.
“We showed we could really play and beat some great teams and beat some great
pitchers, too. It’s all about starting out strong and finishing strong.”

Arizona put together an unexpected turnaround season, following two 90-loss
seasons by winning 94 games on the way to its first NL West title since 2007.
The crowning moment came with Friday’s division-clinching win, a bubbly infused
celebration that spilled over into the pool behind the outfield wall in right
field.

But there was still some work to do after the splash bash: catch Milwaukee
for the NL’s second-best record.

Arizona kept pace with a thrilling win over the Dodgers on Tuesday, when
Ryan Roberts(notes) hit a walk-off grand slam to cap a six-run 10th inning after the
Dodgers went up five in the top half.

Arizona became the second team in major league history—with the Pirates in
1991—to win after falling behind by five or more runs in an extra inning,
according to information provided to the Diamondbacks by the Elias Sports
Bureau.

After all that excitement, the Diamondbacks didn’t seem to have much left
with the scoreboard showing the Brewers well on their way to a 7-3 win over
Pittsburgh to secure home-field advantage for the NLDS.

Arizona managed three hits in seven innings against Ted Lilly(notes) (12-14) and
Diamondbacks starter Joe Saunders(notes) 12-13) allowed five runs and nine hits before
leaving after six innings—with most of his teammates.

The atmosphere changed quickly late—again—when Gillespie hit his grand
slam and Blanco followed with the homer that chased Troncosco. Arizona couldn’t
complete the comeback this time, with Jansen getting Sean Burroughs(notes) and John
McDonald(notes) to fly out, but the Diamondbacks were more interested in looking ahead
than behind.

“It should be fun,” Diamondbacks center fielder Chris Young said. “We
played good games against those guys all year and I’m sure it’ll be exciting to
watch.”

Notes: Arizona led the majors with 501 extra-base hits. … Roberts became
the fourth player in history to hit an extra-inning grand slam with his team
trailing by three or more runs with his shot against the Dodgers on Tuesday,
according to Elias. Babe Ruth, Roger Freed and Jason Giambi(notes) were the others. …
Due to a rainout in Washington, the Dodgers failed to play 162 games in a non
strike-shortened season for the first time since 1989. … Velez’s last hit was
a 12th-inning single off Cesar Ramos(notes) on May 18, 2010, against San Diego while
playing for the Giants.

PHOENIX (AP)—Ryan Roberts(notes) did his best Kirk Gibson impersonation, pumping
his fist in triumph as he rounded the bases in one of the most amazing moments
of Arizona’s improbable season, and the Diamondbacks’ skipper didn’t mind at
all.

“Some things rub off,” Gibson said. “He deserved to do it.”

Roberts’ grand slam capped a six-run 10th inning that gave the Diamondbacks
the most stunning of their 48 come-from-behind victories this season, a 7-6
triumph over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday night.

“That was unbelievable,” Roberts said. “I’ve never been a part of
something like that. Everything on this team blows my mind.”

The Dodgers had scored five runs in their half of the 10th and retired the
first two batters in Arizona’s half of the inning.

But the Diamondbacks loaded the bases, with the help of reliever Blake
Hawksworth’s(notes) failure to cover first base, and scored a run on an error. Los
Angeles closer Javy Guerra(notes) (2-1) came on and walked in a run, then Roberts lined
the first pitch he saw over the fence in left field. It was Guerra’s second
blown save in 23 tries.

“Hawks not covering first opens the door,” Dodgers manager Don Mattingly
said. “From there anything happens. We basically gave them an extra out and
that cost us.”

As Roberts rounded the bases he pointed toward the Arizona dugout and pumped
his fist again and again in an imitation of Gibson’s famous home run trot after
his game-ending shot for the Dodgers in the 1988 World Series. He had been
planning it all year.

“I’ve never hit a walkoff home run before in my whole career,” Roberts
said. “I finally got to do it. I’m glad I remembered” to do the Gibson home
run trot.

Micah Owings(notes) (8-0) got the victory despite his awful 10th, which included
his throwing error that allowed the first run to score.

“He gives up five runs and ends up getting a win out of it,” Gibson said.
“It’s been that kind of year.”

The victory keeps alive Arizona’s hopes to open the first round of the
playoffs at home. For that to happen, Milwaukee must lose to Pittsburgh and the
Diamondbacks beat the Dodgers in their regular-season finales on Wednesday
night.

Nearly all of the crowd had left after the Dodgers had taken a 6-1 lead in
the 10th.

Dee Gordon(notes), who was 3 for 5 with an RBI single, doubled to lead off the
inning, then Jerry Sands(notes) laid down a sacrifice bunt. Owings, the seventh Arizona
pitcher, fielded the ball and threw wild past third base, where he had no chance
to get the speedy Gordon anyway.

After Gordon scored, Matt Kemp(notes) and James Loney(notes) had RBI doubles. A.J. Ellis(notes)
tripled off the fence in right field, with the ball hitting outfielder Justin
Upton(notes) in the head. Upton, who had sat out the previous game after being beaned
by San Francisco’s Tim Lincecum(notes), went into a crouch and was attended to by a
trainer, then left the game.

Gibson said he took Upton out as a precaution and was sure he wasn’t hurt.
He even joked about it.

“At least it didn’t bounce off his head and go over the fence,” Gibson
said. “We got a break there, too, I guess.”

After Hawksworth got two routine outs to start the bottom of the inning, he
had a 2-2 count on Cole Gillespie(notes) when the Arizona batter hit a grounder to
first, and the pitcher failed to cover the base.

“I didn’t pick up where that ball was until it was too late,” Hawksworth
said. “I threw the pitch and finished looking down. It was just too late. He
runs too well to do that. I can’t do that. It was my fault. it should have been
an out. You put guys on base stuff like that can happen.”

Miguel Montero(notes) singled, then Chris Young walked to load the baases.
Pinch-hitter John McDonald(notes) hit a hard grounder to third that Aaron Miles(notes) muffed
for an error. That was it for Hawksworth, as Mattingly went to his closer to
wrap things up.

Lost in the wild finish was the superb major league debut of Arizona’s
Jarrod Parker(notes), who didn’t allow a run in 5 1-3 innings. Hideki Kuroda, 14 years
older than the 22-year-old Parker, blanked the Diamondbacks for six innings.

The Dodgers broke a scoreless tie on Gordon’s RBI single off reliever
Alberto Castillo(notes) in the seventh. Rod Barajas(notes) singled with one out, then Jamey
Carroll(notes) walked. Eugenio Valez, pinch-running for Barajas, took third on a
fielder’s choice, then scored on Gordon’s single. Gordon was out trying to
stretch the hit into a double.

Arizona responded immediately. Young drew a leadoff walk from Matt Guerrier(notes)
in the seventh, then scored from first on Lyle Overbay’s(notes) double over the head of
center fielder Kemp.

Parker, the ninth overall pick in the 2007 draft, allowed four hits, struck
out one and walked one.

Kuroda allowed five hits and struck out five, with no walks.

Notes: Upton was 0 for 3 with two strikeouts and is 2 for 18 in his career
against Kuroda. … The Diamondbacks are scheduled to send LHP Joe Saunders(notes)
(12-12, 3.58 ERA) to the mound Wednesday, while the Dodgers go with LHP Ted
Lilly(notes) (11-14, 4.12). … Gibson said the team will have Thursday off, then work
out Friday in whatever city that will host the division series opener. … If
the Diamondbacks and Milwaukee finish tied in the standings, Arizona holds the
tiebreaker by winning the season series 4-3.

by The Associated Press

azfamily.com

Posted on September 27, 2011 at 6:25 AM

Updated
today at 6:25 AM

PHOENIX (AP) — Daniel Hudson sounded more like a starting pitcher in spring training than one at the end of September.

“You kind of tell yourself that you have a more important start coming up in the playoffs so you take it as a fine tuning,” Hudson said after the Arizona Diamondbacks’ 4-2 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Monday night.

The Diamondbacks, who had won four straight, remained one game behind Milwaukee for home-field advantage in the first round of the playoffs. The Brewers lost 9-8 to Pittsburgh on Monday night.

“We wanted to win that game and catch Milwaukee,” Hudson said. “It was just a dumb pitch.”

That pitch was a changeup that floated over the middle of the plate before Matt Kemp drove it onto the walkway beyond the center-field fence for his NL-best 38th home run and a 3-0 first-inning Dodgers lead.

Hudson (16-12) settled down to retire the next 15 batters he faced but the damage was done. He finished with four runs allowed on five hits with a walk and five strikeouts.

“He made a mistake, a high changeup to Kemp, and that is not who you want to do it to,” Arizona manager Kirk Gibson said. “Other than that he pitched decent.”

The Diamondbacks were without right fielder Justin Upton, who was a late scratch one day after being hit in the head with a pitch. Upton was in Gibson’s original lineup but was scratched after batting practice.

“I wasn’t feeling 100 percent and Gibby at this point wants me 100 percent when I step on the field so there was no question asked,” Upton said.

Arizona rallied for two runs without a hit in the eighth. Paul Goldschmidt, who struck out with the bases loaded in the sixth, also came up the bases loaded in the eighth and struck out again. Mike MacDougal then walked pinch-hitter Geoff Blum to force home a run and trim Los Angeles’ lead to 4-2, but Gerardo Parra flied out to left to end the inning.

The Diamondbacks drew five walks in the inning to match a franchise record.

Dodgers starter Dana Eveland (3-2) allowed five hits in 5 2/3 innings to snap a personal two-game losing streak and give the Dodgers their second straight win against the Diamondbacks after three straight losses in the season series.

Javy Guerra, the Dodgers’ sixth pitcher, pitched the ninth for his 21st save in 22 chances.

Dee Gordon got the Dodgers off to a fast start with a leadoff double in the first. Jerry Sands then walked before Kemp hit his home run. Kemp also leads the NL with 123 RBIs and is third with a .324 batting average with two games left.

Kemp extended his modest hitting streak to 10 games and moved into fourth place on the Los Angeles single-season RBIs chart.

The Dodgers made it 4-0 in the seventh when James Loney doubled off the center-field wall and scored on Justin Seller’s single to right.

NOTES: Arizona last had a five-walk inning July 30 in Los Angeles. … Sands singled in the eighth to extend his hitting streak to 14 games. … Diamondbacks RHP Jarrod Parker, who went 11-8 for the Double-A Mobile, will make his major league debut Tuesday night against the Dodgers RHP Hiroki Kuroda. Kuroda, 2-5 in 10 career games against Arizona, will be making his career-best 32nd start.

By Eric Stephen

– Managing Editor

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Sep 26, 2011 – Matt Kemp continues his run at both the National League triple crown and a potential 40/40 season on Monday night as the Los Angeles Dodgers face the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field in Phoenix. Kemp in his career has hit .304/.355/.500 in 39 games at Chase Field, with seven home runs. He has two home runs in six games there this season, while hitting .292 (seven hits in 24 at-bats).

Kemp has two singles in eight career at-bats against Daniel Hudson, Monday’s starting pitcher for Arizona. Kemp trails Ryan Braun by eight points in batting average, so his chances at a triple crown are slim, but the various scenarios were examined by True Blue LA. Kemp also needs three home runs to become the fifth player in MLB history with 40 home runs and 40 stolen bases in the same season.

Kemp won National League Player of the Week for last week, during which Kemp hit .423 with four doubles and three home runs. It is the first such award this season for Kemp, who also won the honor once in 2008.

Dana Eveland gets the start for the Dodgers, making his fifth start since getting promoted on September 1. In two road starts, Eveland is 2-0 and allowed one run in 15 innings. At home, he is 0-2 and allowed nine runs in nine innings. Tonight’s start, as you may have guessed, is on the road.

The Dodgers are 6-9 this season against the Diamondbacks, including 3-3 at Chase Field.

Monday’s 6:40 p.m. PDT game will be televised by Prime Ticket. Be sure to read True Blue LA for detailed Dodgers analysis, such as a breakdown of Dana Eveland and other Dodgers fifth starters this season.

Read More: Dana Eveland (P – LOS), Matt Kemp (CF – LOS), Daniel Hudson (P – ARI), Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Dodgers at Arizona Diamondbacks, Sep 26, 2011 6:40 PM PDT

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A fastball from San Francisco Giants pitcher Tim Lincecum glanced off the bill of Justin Upton’s helmet in the first inning Sunday afternoon, rattling just about everyone at Chase Field – including Lincecum.

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Diamondbacks-Giants photos | Box score | MLB scoreboard

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But early indications are it didn’t rattle the Diamondbacks’ star right fielder too badly.

Upton initially remained in the game to run the bases, but he was removed after experiencing nausea upon returning to the dugout.

But he passed neurological tests administered by the team’s medical staff and a CT scan checked out normal, according to team physician Dr. Michael Lee.

“He looks very, very good,” Lee said.

The Diamondbacks kept right on rolling without him, pounding Lincecum for five runs in five innings to win 5-2. It was their fourth victory in a row, and they remain a game behind the Milwaukee Brewers in the race to secure home-field advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

Right-hander Josh Collmenter closed out his rookie season with another quality start, and closer J.J. Putz registered his career-high 45th save, but the focus in both clubhouses Sunday was on Upton’s condition.

Lee couldn’t definitively rule out a concussion, but said all early signs were encouraging. Upton had no loss of consciousness or memory and left the ballpark without a headache. That he vomited after coming off the field can be cause for concern, but there were no other indications that anything was wrong with Upton, who did not speak with reporters after Sunday’s game.

“That can be a sign of a concussion or even a brain injury,” Lee said of the nausea. “But he does not seem to have that whatsoever at this point. The tests sort of ruled that out.”

Lee said Upton will undergo more tests Monday, including the ImPACT test, a computer program that examines a player’s memory and reaction speed compared with prior test results administered before the season.

“We’ll do that again to make sure he tests well with that,” Lee said. “He’s day to day at this point in time. But we don’t have any major concerns.”

It was the 19th time Upton has been hit by a pitch this season.

Lincecum appeared shaken up, walking toward home plate as Upton was being evaluated by the training staff.

“I know situations like that can be extremely scary,” Lincecum said. “I definitely wanted to make sure he was all right. During the game, I had one of the players send a message over there saying that it was a complete accident. There was no intention of doing that. I wanted to know if he was doing all right and how his well-being was. They sent back that he was doing fine.”

Lincecum said he pitched differently after the incident.

“Yeah, maybe a little,” he said. “Kind of afraid to go in for fear of that stuff happening again.”

Miguel Montero followed the hit by pitch by hammering a fastball for a two-run double, Upton scoring from first base. Collin Cowgill and Aaron Hill later added RBI doubles as the Diamondbacks cruised to their sixth win in the past seven games.

Diamondbacks rewind

Keeping pace: The Diamondbacks are one game behind the Milwaukee Brewers, whom they’re trying to chase down to secure home-field advantage – and possibly avoid playing the Philadelphia Phillies – in the division series.

The Brewers won their third in a row Sunday and have won nine of their past 12.

“We can’t control that,” Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson said. “We can only control what we can do. Our intentions are to try to win out. We may. We may not. Wherever we go to play on Saturday, that’s fine. We have to beat whoever we have to play. We respect them all, but yet we know we’re pretty good and have the ability to beat anybody.”

Big pitch: Right-hander Josh Collmenter finished a tough at-bat by the Giants’ Aubrey Huff by striking him out looking at a curveball. It’s a pitch he still rarely employs but one that he said has improved throughout the year.

“I thought maybe Miggy was going to call it,” Collmenter said, referring to catcher Miguel Montero. “(Huff) was battling and fouling fastballs off and staying on the change-up a little bit. I knew he wasn’t looking for (the curveball), and I just wanted to make a good pitch. Fortunately I was able to.”

Beating Lincecum: The Diamondbacks faced Giants right-hander Tim Lincecum for the 18th time Sunday, hanging a loss on him for just the fifth time. It was the third time they’ve scored five runs against him.

He has a career 2.95 ERA in 125 career innings against the Diamondbacks.

View from the press box

Justin Upton’s hit by pitch appeared to be a glancing blow off his helmet, and everything looks good so far, but we might not know for sure if Upton is in the clear for at least another day or so. He’s obviously the Diamondbacks’ most valuable player, so they can only hope the early diagnosis holds.

Up next: Los Angeles Dodgers

Update: When the Dodgers have been in the headlines this season, it usually has been for one of three things – their owners’ messy divorce, Clayton Kershaw or Matt Kemp. The ownership situation still is unsettled, and Kershaw made his final start of what might be a Cy Young Award-winning season, but Kemp still has three games to go as he tries to secure the NL MVP award. Kemp entered Sunday with an outside chance to become the league’s first Triple Crown winner since Joe Medwick in 1937. He was third in the league in batting average (.325, six points back of Milwaukee’s Ryan Braun), tied for first in home runs (37) and tops in RBIs (119). The Dodgers are finishing the season strong, having won 22 of their past 31 entering Sunday.