Detroit - Prince Fielder waved his arms franticly, gleefully calling off his teammates before catching the final out.

From the moment Fielder signed his massive contract in January, an entire city had been waiting for a moment like this.

Max Scherzer capped a stupendous stretch for Detroit's starting rotation, and the Tigers advanced to the World Series for the second time in seven years by beating the New York Yankees 8-1 Thursday for a four-game sweep of the AL championship series.

Miguel Cabrera and Jhonny Peralta hit two-run homers in a four-run fourth inning against CC Sabathia, who was unable to prevent the Yankees from getting swept in a postseason series for the first time in 32 years.

"Yeah, we did it," Cabrera said. "It's an unbelievable feeling. ... Four more wins, guys. Four more wins."

Scherzer took a no-hit bid into the sixth against a New York starting lineup that was again without Alex Rodriguez, who flied out with two on in the sixth as a pinch hitter.

Austin Jackson added a solo shot in the seventh for Detroit, and Peralta hit another homer an inning later.

The game ended with Fielder, Detroit's $214 million acquisition, catching Jayson Nix's popup. The Tigers spilled onto the field for a celebration that began near second base and eventually moved closer to the third-base line.

Detroit won its 11th American League pennant and first since 2006. The Tigers have five days off before the World Series starts Wednesday at defending champion St. Louis or 2010 winner San Francisco.

After scoring in just three of 39 innings during the series, New York heads home to face unpleasant questions about its future following a postseason of awful hitting, benched stars and veterans showing the wear and tear of age. Rodriguez, the $275 million third baseman, was out of the starting lineup for the third time in the playoffs. Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera could only watch following season-ending injuries.

The Yankees hit .188 in the postseason - a record low for a team that played at least seven games - and .157 in the LCS. Detroit outhit New York 16-2 in the finale and 46-22 in the series. The Tigers' starters are 4-1 with a 1.02 ERA in this postseason.

Detroit's rotation has been impeccable in the postseason. Scherzer, Justin Verlander, Anibal Sanchez and Doug Fister allowed only two earned runs against the Yankees. New York was shut out once and totaled six runs in the series.

Scherzer allowed a run and two hits in 5 2/3 innings in the finale, struck out 10 and walked two.

The Yankees lost Jeter to a broken ankle in the opening game, and the slumping Rodriguez was benched for Game 3. He was out of the starting lineup for Game 4 too, but A-Rod did have one last chance to turn his postseason around when Scherzer was lifted for left-hander Drew Smyly with two outs in the sixth and the Tigers up 6-1.

As Smyly finished warming up, Rodriguez popped out of the dugout to pinch hit for Raul Ibanez, but with runners at the corners, he hit a routine fly to center field. He grounded out in the ninth, completing a 3 for 25 (.125) playoffs with no RBI.

"I'm not going to make excuses," said Rodriguez, who wants to stay with the Yankees. "I feel like I had ample opportunity to do my job."

The Yankees failed to win a game in a postseason series for only the fifth time. They hadn't been swept since a best-of-five ALCS against Kansas City in 1980. The last team to sweep four straight against them had been Cincinnati in the 1976 World Series.

"They threw the ball really well," Rodriguez said. "They outplayed us in every facet of the game and they were the better team."

New York never led in this series - the only other time that's happened to the Yankees was when they were swept by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1963 World Series.

Detroit immediately took the lead Thursday on series MVP Delmon Young's RBI single.

Avisail Garcia drove in an unearned run in the third with a single before the Tigers broke it open in the fourth. Cabrera, the first Triple Crown winner in 45 years, made it 4-0 with a towering drive to left field. Peralta drove in two more runs with his shot to the same part of the ballpark.

After Andy Dirks doubled, Sabathia was pulled. He allowed five earned runs and 11 hits in 3 2/3 innings.

"It's embarrassing to me," Sabathia said. "They're a good team with dominant pitching. Give those guys credit - they pitched great. And we didn't match them."

New York's hitting was abysmal thoughout the playoffs. Robinson Cano was at .075 (3 for 40) with no home runs, including a 29 at-bat hitless streak. Curtis Granderson 3 for 30 with 16 strikeouts, Nick Swisher .167 (5 for 30) with two RBIs, Russell Martin .161 (5 for 31) with one RBI and Eric Chavez 0 for 16 with eight strikeouts.

"It wasn't one guy. It wasn't two guys," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "It was a bunch of guys."