CLEVELAND — As October's curtain rose, they were unknown underdogs.

Nobody's calling the Cleveland Indians anything close to that now.

"This club believes in itself," third baseman Casey Blake said. "We know we're here for a reason, and there's no reason we can't win this series — and go to the World Series."

Jake Westbrook, often overlooked in Cleveland's top-heavy starting rotation, kept Boston grounded for nearly seven innings last night, leading the Indians to a 4-2 win over the Boston Red Sox and a 2-1 lead in the AL championship series.

With two more games at Jacobs Field, the Indians, who haven't won it all since 1948, are in control of a best-of-seven series.

"We're up 2-1," closer Joe Borowski said. "Hopefully, we can keep that momentum going."

Westbrook, a laid-back Georgian, doesn't possess the overpowering stuff of C.C. Sabathia or Fausto Carmona — Cleveland's two aces who flopped in Games 1 and 2 at Fenway Park — or their stellar reputations.

But Westbrook does have a devastating sinkerball, and oh my, how it sunk the Red Sox.

"I was able to make good pitches when I needed to," said Westbrook, who lost at Yankee Stadium last week. "I'm a sinkerball guy. That's what I live and die by. I threw that all night and was able to mix in my secondary pitches pretty well."

Backed by an early homer from old pro Kenny Lofton, the right-hander took a shutout into the seventh inning.

"Our bullpen has been working hard. Jake controlled the ballgame. He did a good job working ahead and keeping the ball on the ground," said Indians manager Eric Wedge, who used five relievers in Cleveland's Game 2, 11-inning marathon win.

Game 4 tonight will feature two soft tossers: Cleveland's Paul Byrd, with his old-school windup, and Boston's Tim Wakefield, the 41-year-old knuckleballing master.

Boston grounded into three double plays, two by October's scariest twosome — David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez. They also combined for something even more unusual: Ramirez's grounder nailed Big Papi in the leg on the basepath between second and third for an easy out that helped Westbrook.

In all, Westbrook got 14 of 19 outs on balls the Red Sox pounded weakly into the manicured grass and infield dirt at Jacobs Field.

Jensen Lewis, Rafael Betancourt and Borowski finished it.

Lofton hit a two-run homer in the second off Daisuke Matsuzaka. Cleveland added two more runs in the fifth.