ANAHEIM, Calif. — Alex Rodriguez limited the celebration of his latest playoff homer to a brisk trot and a few high-fives. CC Sabathia barely even pumped a fist while mowing down the Angels for eight innings.

Even while they shined at a pivotal point in the AL championship series, the slugger and the workhorse starter seemed determined to stick to business.

Although none of the Yankees' 26 World Series championships included these two stars, their no-nonsense excellence in a 10-1 victory last night put New York one win from routing the Los Angeles Angels and playing for another title.

"We just need to close it out," Sabathia said simply. "It's that time."

Rodriguez homered in the third straight game of his outstanding postseason, Sabathia pitched five-hit ball on three days' rest, and the Yankees took a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven ALCS with superstars living up to their big contracts.

Johnny Damon added a late two-run homer for the Yankees, who could sew up their first trip to the World Series in six years with a win in Game 5 tomorrow night at Angel Stadium. New York's A.J. Burnett faces Angels ace John Lackey.

Rodriguez had three hits and scored three runs, while Melky Cabrera drove in four for the Yankees, who built a commanding cushion in this once-wild series by draining the drama from it.

One day after the Angels handed New York its first playoff loss in an extra-inning thriller, the Yankees put together two early rallies before piling on five runs late — all backed by Sabathia's steady work in his second win of the series.

"This team's good. We have great players, Hall of Fame players," said Sabathia, who has won three of the Yankees' seven playoff games. "We've got all the confidence in the world."

With a two-run homer to left field that silenced an excited Anaheim crowd in the fifth, Rodriguez drove in a run in his eighth straight postseason game, tying the major league record. It was his fifth homer in New York's seven postseason games, matching Reggie Jackson's iconic 1977 effort for the second-most homers in a single playoff year for the Yankees.

"Well, the game slows down for you, no doubt about it," said Rodriguez, who is 6 for 16 with three homers and five RBIs in the ALCS. "You feel like you want to see the ball and hit it hard and not try to do too much, but the best way I can describe it is you feel like the game is slowing down."