Tyson Ross continued his home dominance Monday against the Rangers

The calendar moving to September means that fantasy playoffs will begin within the next couple weeks. Fantasy owners need to play matchups and notice what teams will monitor innings for young pitchers and as well as those that are out of contention that will call up top prospects. The two hottest teams in baseball will open this daily update for September 1, 2015.

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Recap

Bartolo Colon and Mets shut down Phillies
Colon pitched eight scoreless innings against the Phillies on Monday night for his 12th win of the season. Colon allowed four and seven runs in two of his August starts, but finished the month with a 2.83 ERA on the back of four starts where he allowed one earned run or less in seven innings or more. Michael Conforto finished 2-for-2 with a walk, a run, and a solo home run, his fourth of the season, to lead the Mets. Conforto has been a source of power for the Mets since joining the team on July 24 and has a .928 OPS in 82 career at-bats. Curtis Granderson finished 1-for-3 with a run scored, walk, two RBI, and his 23rd home run of the season. Fantasy owners had given up on Granderson in early 2015, but he now has 52 extra-base hits for the season and finished August with 16 extra-base hits, 22 RBI, and 23 runs scored.

Jerad Eickhoff allowed three runs on four hits in seven innings against the Mets on Monday, posting his third straight quality start for the Phillies. Eickhoff was acquired in the Cole Hamels trade and has 15 strikeouts in 19 innings with Philadelphia while only walking four batters.

Danny Salazar plays spoiler against Blue Jays
Salazar pitched seven innings against the Blue Jays on Monday night, allowing only two runs on six hits, and finished with 10 strikeouts and one walk for the game. Salazar finished August with 36 strikeouts in 32 innings and averages 10.23 strikeouts per nine in 151 1/3 innings this season and has a 1.08 WHIP as well. Jason Kipnis finished 1-for-4 with his 37th double of the season and finished August with a .241 batting average. Kipnis has a .865 OPS for the season and has hits in eight of his last 11 games. Ryan Raburn was 1-for-3 with a double, a run scored, and RBI against the Blue Jays and has 22 extra-base hits in 44 hits this season. Raburn has been a spot starter in the outfield and at designated hitter for Cleveland, only earning 152 at-bats, but has a .880 OPS and his 21 extra-base hits against left-handers make him a good option as a platoon player.

Josh Donaldson finished 1-for-4 with a walk, triple, and two RBI for the Blue Jays, who dropped their first game of the homestand after sweeping the Tigers over the weekend. Donaldson finished August as the best player in baseball, posting 19 extra-base hits, 29 runs scored, and 35 RBI, and becoming the top choice for AL MVP coming into September.

Rangers fall to Padres
Tyson Ross pitched seven shutout innings, allowing three hits and striking out seven batters, to snap the Rangers four-game winning streak. Ross, who averages 9.6 strikeouts per nine for the season, had a 2.89 ERA and 3-1 record in August. Travis Jankowski finished 2-for-4 with his first career extra-base hit, a triple, a stolen base, and scored two runs. Jankowski had a .335 batting average and 32 stolen bases between Double-A San Antonio and Triple-A El Paso this season and has three multi-hit games in his 10 games with the Padres. Yonder Alonso was 2-for-5 with a double, RBI, and two runs scored in his third straight multi-hit game. Alonso finished August with a .269 batting average and six extra-base hits, scoring 18 runs in the process.

Elvis Andrus finished 2-for-3 for the Rangers, marking his fifth multi-hit game in his last 10 games. Andrus has struggled this season, posting a .667 OPS, but his .375 batting average over the last seven days, including three extra-base hits, saw his August batting average jump to .290.

Shelby Miller‘s woes continue
Justin Bour finished 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI on Monday night against the Braves, as the Marlins extended Shelby Miller‘s nightmare season with a 4-0 win. Bour only had a .264 batting average for the month, but had 16 RBI for the month and finished with hits in seven of his last 10 games. Martin Prado finished 2-for-4 with a run scored, double, and RBI against the Braves, wrapping up August with 16 RBI. Prado had a .276 batting average in August and finished the month with hits in nine of his last 10 games.  J.T. Realmuto finished 2-for-4 for the Marlins, a positive end to a disappointing August where he had a .200 batting average. Realmuto has struggled in his first full MLB season, posting only a .652 OPS for the season, but does have 29 extra-base hits and six steals for the season and a catcher with decent power and speed can be a good part of a fantasy baseball lineup for 2016.

Shelby Miller allowed only one earned run in seven innings, holding the Marlins to six hits, but now has not won in his last 19 decisions after starting the season 5-1. Miller has 12 quality starts in those 19 starts between wins and has a 2.93 ERA in the second half.

Chris Archer dominant as Orioles drop fifth straight game
Archer pitched six shutout innings against the Orioles on Monday night, allowing only four hits and striking out six batters. Archer ended August with 50 strikeouts in 39 1/3 innings and a 3.66 ERA, but he did allow three or more runs in three of his six starts. Logan Forsythe capped August with a 3-for-4 performance including a double, triple, and two runs scored. Forsythe finished August with 10 extra-base hits, scored 18 runs, and had three multi-hit games in his last five games. Tim Beckham finished 2-for-3 with a home run and two RBI for the Rays and has at least one extra-base hit in four of his last six games started. Eighteen of Beckham’s 37 hits this season have been for extra-bases and, although he has a poor .291 OBP, his .471 slugging percentage is very solid for a 2B/SS.

Jonathan Schoop finished 2-for-4 with a double for the for Orioles, capping August with a .321 batting average. Schoop had 10 runs scored and 15 RBI in August, slugging 11 extra-base hits, and finishing the month with hits in eight of his last 10 games.

What to watch for

The best matchup of the evening sees NL Cy Young candidates Madison Bumgarner and Zack Greinke facing off in Los Angeles in Giants/Dodgers. Greinke has allowed three and five runs in August starts, but has a 2.45 ERA overall in August, posting 36 strikeouts in 33 innings. Bumgarner was the best pitcher in baseball in August, posting a 1.43 ERA and 53 strikeouts in 37 2/3 innnings while walking only four batters. Marco Estrada, Gerrit Cole and Chris Sale will also pitch today.

Chris Zolli is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from Chris, check out his archive and follow him @thezman2010.