The Cleveland Indians have picked up manager Manny Acta's contract option for 2013.

Acta kept the Indians in contention for much of this season before injuries overwhelmed the young club, which finished second in the AL Central. Cleveland went 80-82, an 11-game improvement over last season.

Acta was signed through 2012, and the Indians rewarded him by exercising the option for 2013. He's 149-175 in two seasons withCleveland.

Acta's staff already has undergone radical change for next season. On Wednesday, bench coach Tim Tolman disclosed he hasParkinson's disease and will not be back, and pitching coach Tim Belcher stepped down to spend more time with his family.

The Indians had 36 come-from-behind victories in 2011 and seven walk-off home runs, the most since 1995.

At a season ending news conference on Thursday at Progressive Field, Acta told the media 'this is the place that I want to be'.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

The Cleveland Indians today announced TIM BELCHER has stepped down as Major League Pitching Coach. Belcher will again assume a position similar to the Special Assistant to Baseball Operations role he served in for 8 seasons from 2002-09 before becoming Manny Acta’s Pitching Coach in 2010.

Statement from Tim Belcher regarding today’s decision:

After much reflection and deliberation, I have decided not to return as the Major League Pitching Coach for the 2012 season.

When I accepted the position two years ago, I understood and embraced the challenges of the role. Over the last two years I was fully committed to the responsibilities of the job and enjoyed it.

However, as I began to look forward to 2012, I felt that I would not be able to balance the changing needs of my family and the demands of the job. As a result, I have decided that it would be best for me to step away from coaching at this time.

I want to thank the Indians for the opportunity to work with a good young pitching staff the past two years. I am excited about the future of the team and I welcome the opportunity to continue working for the club in another capacity going forward.

Miguel Cabrera singled and doubled, wrapping up the American League batting title, and Jhonny Peralta hit a tiebreaking homer in the eighth inning to help the Detroit Tigers beat the Cleveland Indians 5-4 last night.

Cabrera finished the season hitting .344, six points ahead of Michael Young of Texas and Adrian Gonzalez of Boston.

Peralta hit his 21st homer of the season off Vinnie Pestano (1-2) to give the Tigers the lead after Ryan Perry (2-0) allowed Cleveland to tie it at 4 in the top of the eighth.

Jose Valverde pitched the ninth for his 49th save in 49 chances. Detroit will be at the New York Yankees to open the playoffs.

Cleveland reliever Vinnie Pestano allowed the home run to Peralta in the eighth. Indians Starter Zach McAllister pitched well for the first five-plus innings.

The Indians finish the season with a record of 80 wins and 82 losses, good for second place in the American League Central Division. The Tribe finishes 15 games behind the Tigers.

Doug Fister pitched eight strong innings and Alex Avila drove in three runs to help the Detroit Tigers beat the Cleveland Indians 14-0 last night.

Justin Verlander and Fister, who are scheduled to start the first two games of Detroit's first-round playoff series, are now acombined 14-0 with a 1.61 ERA in 16 appearances since August 16th.

Fister, who allowed three singles while striking out nine, has been even better than the Cy Young favorite in the stretch, going 7-0 with a 0.65 ERA in his last eight outings. Fister (11-13), who was picked up in a six-player deal with Seattle on July 30th, hasnow gone 20 innings without walking a batter.

Ubaldo Jimenez (4-4), another pitcher the Tigers looked at before acquiring Fister, gave up six runs on nine hits and three walks in five innings.

The Indians and the Tigers play game two of their three-game series tonight in Detroit. Jeanmar Gomez will start for the Tribe tonight against Maz Scherzer for the Tigers.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)