Sabathia cages Tigers in 4-2 win

Cleveland swept a three-game series and reduced its magic number to three.

CLEVELAND (AP) — Once top cats in the AL Central, the Detroit Tigers were tamed, de-clawed and chased away with a broom.

The Cleveland Indians simply wouldn’t let them hang around.

Not this year.

“They’re going to be Central Division champions, obviously,” Tigers manager Jim Leyland conceded Wednesday after the Indians completed a three-game sweep with a 4-2 win. “They did what a championship team does.”

C.C. Sabathia (18-7) upgraded his Cy Young Award resume and the Indians, a fourth-place finisher in 2006, dropped their magic number to three for clinching their first title since 2001.

When Cleveland was in the midst of its worst stretch of the season last month, Sabathia boldly predicted the Indians would win the division. It appears the big lefty was right.

“I just felt it,” Sabathia said. “I knew this was coming. I had no regrets saying that at all. Here we are.”

Blake slugs homer

Casey Blake homered off Nate Robertson (8-12) as the Indians improved to 20-5 since Aug. 25.

By winning three straight over the Tigers, Cleveland opened a season-high 7 1/2-game lead over the defending AL champs, who led in every game of the series but couldn’t put the Indians away.

Rafael Betancourt worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the eighth, and closer Joe Borowski pitched the ninth for his league-leading 42nd save — and biggest one to date.

After a rare 1-2-3 ninth, Borowski, who knows all about heartbreak after pitching for the Chicago Cubs in 2003, was asked to assess how the Tigers might feel after such a sweep.

“It’s crushing,” he said. “You go out there and it’s a do-or-die series. Psychologically it takes a toll.”

Sabathia, who went 17-5 as a rookie in ’01, set a career-high for wins by allowing two runs and five hits in seven innings. The 27-year-old gave up both runs in the third, but settled down and retired 12 of the last 13.

Strong candidate for award

Sabathia’s case to become Cleveland’s first Cy Young Award winner since Gaylord Perry in 1972, is a strong one. He leads the majors in innings and is ranked at the top — or near it — in virtually every category among AL pitchers.

“I don’t care about the Cy Young or anything other than winning, I swear,” he said. “I just want to win, man. I’d much rather win a World Series.”

Just as they did in the first two games, the Indians fell behind before rallying.

Trailing 2-1 in the fifth, Cleveland scored three runs off Robertson, who gave up four runs in seven innings.