Does the 2nd game theory exist? Some believe that the second game back from a roadtrip a team will suffer from fatigue and display lackluster performance. Here is a quick look at the Rangers' Runs/RA for the 2nd game back for the last 3 years.
2011 4-7 Rk Gm# Date Opp R RA 17 17 Tuesday Apr 19 LAA L 4 15 34 34 Saturday May 7 NYY W 7 5 49 49 Tuesday May 24 CHW L 6 8 62 62 Tuesday Jun 7 DET L 1 8 75 75 Tuesday Jun 21 HOU W 5 4 84 84 Saturday Jul 2 FLA L 5 9 101 101 Saturday Jul 23 TOR W 5 4 114 114 Saturday Aug 6 CLE L 5 7 130 130 Tuesday Aug 23 BOS L 5 11 146 146 Saturday Sep 10 OAK L 7 8 158 158 Saturday Sep 24 SEA W 7 3 totals 57 82 runs/game 5.2 7.5 2011 season @ home 6.1 4.9
2010 8-3 Rk Gm# Date Opp R RA 17 17 Saturday Apr 24 DET L 4 8 30 30 Friday May 7 KCR W 4 1 40 40 Tuesday May 18 LAA W 8 7 55 55 Saturday Jun 5 TBR W 6 1 71 71 Wednesday Jun 23 PIT W 13 3 80 80 Saturday Jul 3 CHW W 3 1 97 97 Friday Jul 23 LAA W 1 0 113 113 Wednesday Aug 11 NYY L 6 7 125 125 Tuesday Aug 24 MIN W 4 3 142 142 Saturday Sep 11 NYY W 7 6 157 157 Tuesday Sep 28 SEA L 1 3 totals 57 40 runs/game 5.2 3.6 2010 season @ home 5.3 4.2
2009 7-5 Rk Gm# Date Opp R RA 8 8 Tuesday Apr 14 BAL L 5 7 21 21 Thursday Apr 30 OAK L 2 4 33 33 Wednesday May 13 SEA W 6 5 45 45 Tuesday May 26 NYY W 7 3 58 58 Tuesday Jun 9 TOR L 0 9 73 73 Saturday Jun 27 SDP L 3 7 89 89 Saturday Jul 18 MIN L 1 4 98 98 Tuesday Jul 28 DET W 7 3 115 115 Saturday Aug 15 BOS W 7 2 131 131 Tuesday Sep 1 TOR W 5 2 141 141 Sunday Sep 13 SEA W 7 2 154 154 Saturday Sep 26 TBR W 15 3 totals 50 51 runs/game 4.2 4.3 2009 season @ home 5.3 4.5I am not ready to confirm or call this theory busted based on these results. Runs/game was down almost 1 run/gm in two of the three years. Pitching had three different outcomes in three years. Certainly needs a deeper study.