The Baseball Planner is the essential guide to setting your lineup for the upcoming week. Every Friday, we provide you with two-start pitchers, favorable team matchups and top hitters to use.

David Gonos also contributed statistical analysis to this column.

Projections are for Sept. 27-Oct. 3 games.

On tap: It's the final week of the Fantasy Baseball season and, barring any tiebreaker games on Oct. 4, all of the division races should be wrapped up. Minnesota and St. Louis have already clinched division titles, and both teams will be more apt to rest veterans or shuffle rotations to prepare for the postseason. The Cardinals have clinched the National League's best record, so keep in mind that their final week of games probably won't have any impact on their postseason situation. ...

Through games of Sept. 23, here are the magic numbers for the other four division leaders: Atlanta one, N.Y. Yankees six, Oakland nine and Los Angeles nine. Boston's magic number is five to clinch the American League wild card, so the races that stand the best chance of going down to the season's final weekend are the AL West (Oakland, Anaheim and Texas are within two games of each other), National League West (Los Angeles, San Francisco and San Diego are separated by 5½ games) and NL wild card (San Francisco, the Chicago Cubs, Houston and San Diego are just 4½ games apart). Count on those teams giving their all until at least either they are eliminated or the regular season's final pitch is thrown, whichever comes first. ...

Several games have been rescheduled for this week: The Tigers and Devil Rays will make up two games in a Thursday doubleheader at Tampa Bay; and the Red Sox and Orioles will play a makeup game in Baltimore on Saturday, creating a doubleheader. ... Baltimore, Detroit and Tampa Bay each play eight games. Fifteen teams play seven games: Anaheim, both Chicago teams, Cincinnati, Colorado, Florida, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, Oakland, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Seattle, Texas and Toronto. The remaining 12 teams play six. ... There are no games scheduled at Coors Field. ...

Taking into account all games with at least a 40 percent chance of precipitation, according to the Weather Channel website, no games should be threatened by poor weather. Keep in mind that if a game does get rained out in the final week, it's possible that it won't be replayed unless it has an impact on the pennant races. Arizona and Houston play all their games in weatherproof parks.

1 0   T W O - S T A R T   P I T C H E R S   T O   U S E - - N L
Here are the 10 most recommended double-duty starting pitchers from the National League, broken down by start:
Pitcher, Last 3:
W-L, ERA, WHIP, IP 		First start
Opponent 		Second start
Opponent
Josh Beckett
0-1, 5.50, 1.500, 18 		9/27, @MON
vs. J. Patterson 		10/2, @PHI
vs. E. Milton
Randy Johnson
2-1, 1.64, 0.909, 22 		9/27, MIL
vs. B. Sheets 		10/3, SD
vs. D. Wells
Greg Maddux
2-1, 4.26, 1.158, 19 		9/28, CIN
vs. L. Hudson 		10/3, ATL
vs. P. Byrd
Eric Milton
1-0, 4.67, 1.096, 17.1 		9/27, PIT
vs. O. Perez 		10/2, FLA
vs. J. Beckett
Roy Oswalt
1-1, 3.66, 1.678, 19.2 		9/27, STL
vs. W. Williams 		10/3, COL
vs. J. Francis
Vicente Padilla
1-0, 6.32, 1.340, 15.2 		9/28, PIT
vs. N. Figueroa 		10/3, FLA
vs. TBA
Oliver Perez
1-2, 3.05, 1.161, 20.2 		9/27, @PHI
vs. E. Milton 		10/3, @CIN
vs. L. Hudson
Jason Schmidt
1-1, 3.38, 0.875, 23 		9/28, @SD
vs. D. Wells 		10/3, @LA
vs. W. Alvarez
Ben Sheets
1-2, 2.14, 0.714, 21 		9/27, @ARI
vs. R. Johnson 		10/2, @STL
vs. W. Williams
Carlos Zambrano
2-0, 0.84, 1.219, 21.1 		9/27, CIN
vs. J. Hancock 		10/2, ATL
vs. J. Thomson
Other two-start pitchers: Wilson Alvarez (9/28, COL, vs. J. Francis; 10/3, SF, vs. J. Schmidt), Paul Byrd (9/27, NYM, vs. S. Trachsel; 10/3, @CHC, vs. G. Maddux), Shawn Estes (9/27, @LA, vs. TBA; 10/2, @HOU, vs. C. Hernandez), Jeff Francis (9/28, @LA, vs. W. Alvarez; 10/3, @HOU, vs. R. Oswalt), Tom Glavine (9/28, @ATL, vs. J. Wright; 10/3, MON, vs. J. Patterson), Josh Hancock (9/27, @CHC, vs. C. Zambrano; 10/2, PIT, vs. J. Fogg), Dan Haren (9/28, @HOU, vs. B. Backe; 10/3, MIL, vs. B. Hendrickson), Ben Hendrickson (9/28, @ARI, vs. B. Webb; 10/3, @STL, vs. D. Haren), Luke Hudson (9/28, @CHC, vs. G. Maddux; 10/3, PIT, vs. O. Perez), John Patterson (9/27, FLA, vs. J. Beckett; 10/3, @NYM, vs. T. Glavine), Steve Trachsel (9/27, @ATL, vs. P. Byrd; 10/2, MON, vs. L. Hernandez), David Wells (9/28, SF, vs. J. Schmidt; 10/3, @ARI, vs. R. Johnson) and Woody Williams (9/27, @HOU, vs. R. Oswalt; 10/2, MIL, vs. B. Sheets).
E I G H T   T W O - S T A R T   P I T C H E R S   T O   U S E - - A L
Here are the eight most recommended double-duty starting pitchers from the American League, broken down by start:
Pitcher, Last 3:
W-L, ERA, WHIP, IP 		First start
Opponent 		Second start
Opponent
Bronson Arroyo
1-0, 3.44, 0.927, 18.1 		9/27, @TB
vs. S. Kazmir 		10/2, @BAL, Gm. 1
vs. S. Ponson
Zack Greinke
1-1, 3.57, 1.132, 17.2 		9/27, CLE
vs. J. Westbrook 		10/3, CHW
vs. J. Contreras
Roy Halladay
0-3, 9.00, 2.000, 14 		9/27, @BAL
vs. S. Ponson 		10/2, NYY
vs. TBA
Orlando Hernandez
1-1, 3.86, 1.408, 16.1 		9/28, MIN
vs. T. Mulholland 		10/3, @TOR
vs. T. Lilly
Tim Hudson
1-0, 3.52, 1.348, 23 		9/28, SEA
vs. G. Meche 		10/3, ANA
vs. B. Colon
Derek Lowe
0-2, 8.31, 1.769, 13 		9/28, @TB
vs. D. Waechter 		10/3, @BAL
vs. D. Cabrera
Kenny Rogers
1-1, 6.89, 1.915, 15.2 		9/27, ANA
vs. A. Sele 		10/2, @SEA
vs. J. Moyer
Barry Zito
1-1, 3.00, 1.222, 18 		9/27, SEA
vs. J. Moyer 		10/2, ANA
vs. A. Sele
Other two-start pitchers: Daniel Cabrera (9/28, TOR, vs. T. Lilly; 10/3, BOS, vs. D. Lowe), Bartolo Colon (9/28, @TEX, vs. C. Park; 10/3, @OAK, vs. T. Hudson), Jose Contreras (9/28, @DET, vs. G. Knotts; 10/3, @KC, vs. Z. Greinke), Jason Grilli (9/27, @DET, vs. N. Robertson; 10/2, @KC, vs. B. Anderson), Scott Kazmir (9/27, BOS, vs. B. Arroyo; 10/2, @DET, vs. N. Robertson), Gary Knotts (9/28, CHW, vs. J. Contreras; 10/3, TB, vs. D. Waechter), Ted Lilly (9/28, @BAL, vs. D. Cabrera; 10/3, NYY, vs. O. Hernandez), Gil Meche (9/28, @OAK, vs. T. Hudson; 10/3, TEX, vs. C. Park), Jamie Moyer (9/27, @OAK, vs. B. Zito; 10/2, TEX, vs. K. Rogers), Terry Mulholland (9/28, @NYY, vs. O. Hernandez; 10/3, CLE, vs. J. Westbrook), Chan Ho Park (9/28, ANA, vs. B. Colon; 10/3, @SEA, vs. G. Meche), Sidney Ponson (9/27, TOR, vs. R. Halladay; 10/2, BOS, Gm. 1, vs. B. Arroyo), Nate Robertson (9/27, CHW, vs. J. Grilli; 10/2, TB, vs. S. Kazmir), Aaron Sele (9/27, @TEX, vs. K. Rogers; 10/2, @OAK, vs. B. Zito), Doug Waechter (9/28, BOS, vs. D. Lowe; 10/3, @DET, vs. G. Knotts) and Jake Westbrook (9/27, @KC, vs. Z. Greinke; 10/3, @MIN, vs. T. Mulholland).
B E S T   H I T T E R S '   S C H E D U L E S
(All statistics are through games of Sept. 22.)
CHICAGO WHITE SOX
MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN
@DET
Robertson 		@DET
Knotts 		@DET
Johnson 		@KC
Gobble 		@KC
Bautista 		@KC
Anderson 		@KC
Greinke
Stadium stats: Comerica Park 10.0 RPG (11th), Kauffman Stadium 9.7 RPG (13th).
DET pitching: 4.96 ERA overall (24th), 5.50 September ERA (27th).
KC pitching: 5.13 ERA overall (28th), 4.47 September ERA (16th).
Interesting tidbit: First baseman Paul Konerko is batting .333 with eight home runs and 20 RBI in 21 games in September. ... Outfielder Ross Gload is batting .415 with one homer and 10 RBI in 19 games in September.
DETROIT TIGERS
MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN
CHW
Grilli 		CHW
Contreras 		CHW
Garcia 		@TB-2
Brazelton
Hendrickson 		TB
Bell 		TB
Waechter 		TB
Ritchie
Stadium stats: Comerica Park 10.0 RPG (11th), Tropicana Field 9.1 RPG (22nd).
CHW pitching: 5.00 ERA overall (26th), 5.97 September ERA (28th).
TB pitching: 4.81 ERA overall (21st), 6.24 September ERA (29th).
Interesting tidbits: First baseman Carlos Pena has hit .277 with 12 homers and 26 RBI in 45 games since the beginning of August. ... Designated hitter Dmitri Young is batting .318 with six home runs and 17 RBI in 17 games in September.
HOUSTON ASTROS
MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN
STL
Williams 		STL
Haren 		STL
Suppan 		-- COL
Kennedy 		COL
Estes 		COL
Francis
Stadium stats: Minute Maid Park 9.3 RPG (18th).
STL pitching: 3.68 ERA overall (1st), 3.36 September ERA (4th).
COL pitching: 5.59 ERA overall (30th), 5.01 September ERA (22nd).
Interesting tidbits: Second baseman Jeff Kent will want to finish his Astros career -- assuming he departs this winter via free agency -- with a strong final week. He's hitting well, with a .275 average, 10 homers and 38 RBI in 45 games since the beginning of August. Kent sure benefits from the dimensions at Minute Maid Park -- he's a .295-11-53 hitter in 69 home games.
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES
MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN
PIT
Perez 		PIT
Figueroa 		PIT
Vogelsong 		FLA
Pavano 		FLA
Willis 		FLA
Kensing 		FLA
Beckett
Stadium stats: Citizens Bank Park 10.1 RPG (10th).
PIT pitching: 4.27 ERA overall (12th), 4.48 September ERA (17th).
FLA pitching: 4.03 ERA overall (7th), 4.57 September ERA (18th).
Interesting tidbit: Third baseman David Bell is batting .351 with four homers and 13 RBI in 19 games in September. ... Outfielder Pat Burrell is hitting just .203 in 17 games in September, but he has hit for decent power during that span, with six homers and 13 RBI.
W O R S T   H I T T E R S '   S C H E D U L E S
(All statistics are through games of Sept. 22.)
NEW YORK METS
MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN
@ATL
Byrd 		@ATL
Wright 		@ATL
Ortiz 		-- MON
Hernandez 		MON
Downs 		MON
Patterson
Stadium stats: Turner Field 9.2 RPG (20th), Shea Stadium 8.8 RPG (25th).
ATL pitching: 3.73 ERA overall (2nd), 3.69 September ERA (7th).
MON pitching: 4.36 ERA overall (16th), 3.88 September ERA (9th).
Interesting tidbits: Right fielder Richard Hidalgo is batting just .132 with three homers and 10 RBI in 18 games in September He's also just 4-for-25 (.160) in six games at Turner Field.
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS
MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN
-- @SD
Wells 		@SD
Lawrence 		@SD
Eaton 		@LA
Weaver 		@LA
TBA 		@LA
Alvarez
Stadium stats: Petco Park 8.1 RPG (30th), Dodger Stadium 8.5 RPG (27th).
SD pitching: 4.01 ERA overall (6th), 4.45 September ERA (15th).
LA pitching: 3.98 ERA overall (4th), 5.11 September ERA (24th).
Interesting tidbits: Catcher A.J. Pierzynski is batting just .179 with one homer and six RBI in 16 games in September. ... Outfielder Michael Tucker is batting just .205 with one homer and two RBI in 12 games in September.
SEATTLE MARINERS
MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN
@OAK
Zito 		@OAK
Hudson 		@OAK
Redman 		@OAK
Harden 		TEX
Drese 		TEX
Rogers 		TEX
Park
Stadium stats: Network Associates Coliseum 9.7 RPG (14th), Safeco Field 8.5 RPG (26th).
OAK pitching: 4.14 ERA overall (10th), 5.37 September ERA (25th).
TEX pitching: 4.48 ERA overall (18th), 4.41 September ERA (14th).
Interesting tidbit: Designated hitter Edgar Martinez is trying his best to return from a foot injury in order to finish out his career on a high note, but keep in mind he was ice cold when he got hurt. He's batting just .156 (5-for-32) with no homers and one RBI in his past nine games.
TORONTO BLUE JAYS
MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN
@BAL
Ponson 		@BAL
Cabrera 		@BAL
Chen 		@BAL
Riley 		NYY
Vazquez 		NYY
TBA 		NYY
Hernandez
Stadium stats: Camden Yards 11.0 RPG (4th), SkyDome 10.3 RPG (8th).
BAL pitching: 4.77 ERA overall (20th), 3.07 September ERA (1st).
NYY pitching: 4.66 ERA overall (19th), 4.28 September ERA (12th).
Interesting tidbit: Right fielder Alexis Rios is batting just .246 with no homers and seven RBI in 19 games in September. ... Catcher Gregg Zaun is batting just .182 with one homer and three RBI in 12 games in September.