Change of scenery for Game 3

Not much seems to faze these Arizona Diamondbacks.

Not the fact that they scored fewer runs than their opponents and still won the tough National League West.

Not that they did it all despite playing without a "superstar" in their lineup.

Not that they were almost completely ignored heading into the playoffs despite having the best record in the National League (90-72).

So if anyone is expecting them to be tight heading into a crucial Game 3 at Wrigley Field today with a chance to close out the NLDS, well, you simply haven't been paying attention.

These guys don't fear pressure. They relish it.

"The way we're looking at it right now, we just play for the game, whether we're down 2-0, whether we're up 2-0, whether it's tied, we try to concentrate on that particular game and not get too far ahead of it, and that's exactly the way we're going to try to play tomorrow," a relaxed Arizona manager Bob Melvin said Friday afternoon at Wrigley Field.

"You know, we've been pretty consistent all year about the long term being the series and kind of midterm being that game and taking it pitch to pitch and from at-bat to at-bat.

"And that's the way we'll continue to take it."

The big question is how the Cubs will take to being down 2-0 and on the brink of elimination. Will they play like they did in Florida in the final week of the season, where they dropped three straight, or will they respond like they did in the final series of the season against Cincinnati, when they finally clinched the NL Central title?

"Look, these guys from the first of June on have played really, really good baseball," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said of his team. "We've been a little bit of a streaky team. A little hot, a little cold.

"We need to get hot again starting Saturday."

Though there's not much, there is a little history on the Cubs' side.

Very little.

In MLB history, four teams in best-of-five division series have rallied from 0-2 deficits to win, the latest being the Boston Red Sox, who accomplished the feat against Oakland in 2003.

Another team that did it was the 1995 Seattle Mariners, who came back from an 0-2 start to beat the New York Yankees.

The manager of that Mariners team? One Mr. Piniella.

"Well, the Yankees beat us in New York the first two ballgames and we beat them three times in Seattle, including the last game in, I think, 10 innings," Piniella said. "It can happen.

"But look, you can't look past tomorrow's game; (that's) the one you need to win. It would be nice to win three games in one day, but it's not going to happen.

"So let's get out there and play a good baseball game -- win in front of the home crowd and start putting a little pressure on this Arizona club."

Melvin thinks his team is ready for the heat that Piniella and the Wrigley Field faithful are sure to provide.

"Well, obviously it's not like playing at home," he said. "Very passionate fans, but a great place to play.

"So I know our guys are looking forward to the atmosphere here. Most of our guys were here earlier in the season.

"It's going to be a little different in a playoff atmosphere, but hopefully it serves us well that we were here one time and had a little success here."

Piniella knows the Cubs have their work cut out if they hope to head back to Arizona for a Game 5 Tuesday.

"Their speed and their pitching coincide very well, and then they've got some home run power," he said. "They're a good baseball team. We knew that going in, believe me."