Cabrera (2 HRs) powers Tribe to sweep

CLEVELAND -- Before the game, Asdrubal Cabrera tossed tennis balls to his 3-year-old son, Meyer, who belted them around the field while wearing dad's No. 13.

Then Dad did the same thing to the Cincinnati Reds.

Cabrera went 5-for-5 with two homers and a career-high five RBIs yesterday as Cleveland completed a three-game sweep of Cincinnati, beating the reeling Reds, 12-4, to grab bragging rights as Ohio's best team.

Cabrera hit a two-run homer in the first inning off Edinson Volquez (3-2) for the Indians, who did early damage after winning the series' first two games with late-inning comebacks. Cabrera added a solo homer in the sixth to give Cleveland an 8-4 lead.

"He was a one-man show at the plate," Indians manager Manny Acta said. "He was unbelievable. He was on every pitch, and he has played like an All-Star for us since Day One."

Cabrera is batting .302 and leads the team with nine homers and 32 RBIs. He's batting .360 with four homers and 15 RBIs in 18 games in May.

Michael Brantley, Cabrera and Shin-Soo Choo -- the top three hitters in Cleveland's lineup -- went a combined 10-for-12 with six runs and nine RBIs as the Indians, now seen more as a contender than as an early-season surprise, moved 14 games over .500 for the first time since 2007.

With its first sweep of the Reds in seven years, Cleveland improved baseball's best record to 29-15 -- 18-4 at Progressive Field, tying the best home start in franchise history.

"They are tough at home," said Reds manager Dusty Baker, whose team has lost five straight games. "They are playing good baseball. Whatever they needed, they got this series."

Joey Votto and Jay Bruce hit solo homers for the Reds. "We hit four, five, six balls well that on other days would have been doubles," Cincinnati outfielder Chris Heisey said. "That's baseball. You get days where you nub three or four and they go for hits. But Cleveland made some good plays."