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Game #3 between the Cubs and Cardinals this evening

Wearing a sleeveless T-shirt with ''WE ARE GOOD'' in
big block lettering across the front, Jake Arrieta looked at ease
while he made himself a sandwich and mingled with the rest of his
teammates on Sunday morning.

The bearded ace of the Chicago Cubs was one cool customer heading
into Game 3 of the deadlocked NL Division Series this evening.
He also was the biggest challenge for the St. Louis Cardinals, who
insist they will be ready for the first playoff game at Wrigley
Field in seven years.

''We've gone up against a number of teams and a number of pitchers
where everybody kind of ruled us out and said you can't do this or
that, and I think this team has responded well in the past,''
Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said.

The past includes two wins against Clayton Kershaw in last year's
playoffs, and a long history of postseason success. It also
includes a victory over Arrieta in May, but that was long before he
went on one of the most dominant runs baseball has ever seen.

Dating to a four-hit shutout against Minnesota on June 21, Arrieta
is 17-1 with a microscopic 0.81 ERA in his last 21 starts. The
stretch includes a no-hitter against the NL West champion Los
Angeles Dodgers, and a five-hit shutout at Pittsburgh in the
wild-card game last Wednesday.

''I've been through a lot in my career, and the failure that I've
gone through makes me really appreciate the moments of success much
more,'' said Arrieta, who looked as if he might be on his way out
of baseball when he was traded from Baltimore to Chicago in July
2013.

''I've had some pretty dark times in this game in my career. You
know, but I was dedicated to getting over the hump, to putting in
the time, the effort, making any adjustments necessary to get to
this point.''

Arrieta's fastball gets into the mid-90s mph, but his best pitch is
a devastating slider that he can throw like a cut fastball and
often induces comically weak swings from baffled batters. He had
236 strikeouts in 229 innings this year.

With each successful start, Arrieta has grown more and more
confident. Same for the rest of the Cubs, who marvel at the
consistency of the big right-hander.

''Even what he's doing now, he still knows he can be better,''
first baseman Anthony Rizzo said. ''I don't even know how that's
possible.''

Of course, everyone said the same thing about Kershaw when he was
the NL MVP and won his third Cy Young Award last year, and he
dropped both of his playoff starts against St. Louis. The Cardinals
made it all the way to the NL Championship Series, and then led the
majors with 100 wins this season.

So while the Cardinals themselves are wondering how to knock off
Arrieta, they are confident, too.

''It's pretty similar to the same scenario we were in last year,''
said St. Louis third baseman Matt Carpenter, who played with
Arrieta at TCU and included the pitcher in his wedding. ''Kershaw
was having a season for the ages. Nobody thought we could beat him.
We found a way to scratch and claw our way to victory. We'll see if
we can do it with Jake.''

A return to form for Michael Wacha would be a big help against the
stingy Arrieta, who hasn't lost at home since July 25. Wacha, who
was the MVP of the 2013 NLCS as a rookie, led St. Louis with 17
wins this year, but struggled to a 7.88 ERA in five September
starts.

The last time Wacha was on the mound in the playoffs, he served up
a game-ending homer to Travis Ishikawa in Game 5 of the 2014 NLCS
at San Francisco.

''Just excited for this opportunity this year, being a part of this
amazing team and looking forward to seeing what we can do in this
postseason,'' Wacha said.

The first game of the playoffs went quite well for St. Louis, which
beat Chicago 4-0 behind a strong start for John Lackey. But the
wild-card Cubs bounced back in Game 2, winning 6-3 on Saturday to
send the best-of-five series to Wrigley tied at a game apiece.

The Cardinals had announced that Lance Lynn would start Game 4 on
Tuesday, but Matheny said they are considering all options right
now. Asked if Lackey was going to throw a side session Sunday to
prepare for a potential Game 5 start, Matheny responded: ''We're
just going to kind of wait on that right now.''

For his part, Cubs manager Joe Maddon said he wasn't ready to
announce his Game 4 starter, either. It seems as if everyone is
focused on the next matchup of the longtime rivals.

''I don't take anything for granted,'' Maddon said. ''I don't think
any of us do. I hope not. The other teams are really good. The team
we're playing tomorrow is very good. So you can't assume anything.'

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