Yankees finish up sweep of Indians

Andy Pettitte pitched and Jason Gambi homered in the 5-3 victory.

CLEVELAND (AP) — Talk about your pushy New Yorkers.

Strutting into Jacobs Field for the weekend, the Yankees made themselves right at home.

They bullied the Cleveland Indians before leaving with three wins and the same confidence that has made them champions many times before.

“I feel like we’re the team,” Andy Pettitte said.

When weren’t they?

Pettitte didn’t have much trouble with Cleveland’s lame lineup and Jason Giambi homered for the second straight day as the Yankees beat the Indians 5-3 to complete a series — and season — sweep on Sunday.

Written off in May when they trailed first-place Boston by 141⁄2 games, the Yankees pulled within four of the Red Sox, who lost 6-3 in 10 innings at Baltimore. It’s the closest New York has been to the top of the AL East standings since April 24.

Yankees on a roll

The Yankees have won eight of nine, and with an offense mashing like no other, improved to a baseball-best 23-8 since the All-Star break.

“We’ve come full circle,” said Pettitte, 5-1 in his last seven starts. “We were just struggling in all aspects of the game a few months ago. It was no fun losing. There’s not a whole lot to complain about right now.”

Pettitte (9-7) carried a shutout into the seventh and allowed seven singles in 71⁄3 innings.

The rock-steady 35-year-old, again pitching for the Yankees after three seasons with the Houston Astros, also used his renowned pickoff move to snuff out Cleveland’s rally in the seventh inning.

With Pettitte working on a three-hit shutout, the Indians loaded the bases in the seventh on two hits and a walk. With Jason Michaels due up, pitching coach Ron Guidry visited Pettitte and gathered New York’s infielders.

Pull off pickoff play

That’s when first baseman Andy Phillips and Pettitte, who had only talked about a pickoff play, decided to try one.

Before the second pitch to Michaels, Phillips sneaked behind Jhonny Peralta, and Pettitte fired to first to nail the Indians shortstop, who made sure he returned to Cleveland’s dugout down the steps at the far end from manager Eric Wedge.

“We had kind of been waiting for the right time to try it,” Pettitte said. “It was nice that it worked.”

Pettitte gave up a sacrifice fly, but retired Chris Gomez on a groundout to preserve his lead, which could have been less than three runs if not for the devious play.

And while the game-changing play further energized the Yanks, it was another demoralizing moment for the Indians, who despite being 13-17 since the break, trail the Detroit Tigers by just a half-game in the AL Central. The teams open a two-game series on Tuesday.

Confidence dwindles

“It’s tough,” Casey Blake said. “Confidence is a big part of this game and the guys in this clubhouse don’t have a lot of confidence right now. When things aren’t going your way, it’s tough to maintain that edge.

“You have to be positive. I don’t think anyone is panicking. In the past, I think some people might have pushed the panic button. We have to believe we’re going to do it.”

Giambi connected for a two-run homer off Jake Westbrook (3-7) in the fourth and Melky Cabrera added a solo shot for the Yankees, who went 6-0 against the Indians, their first season sweep since going 9-0 in 1994.

Asleep offensively most of the weekend, the Indians trailed 4-0 before scoring once in the seventh, eighth and ninth.