pitchout

American  

[pich-out] / ˈpɪtʃˌaʊt /

noun

1. Baseball. a strategy in which a pitcher purposely throws the ball too far outside the plate for the batter to hit, but enabling the catcher to more easily handle the ball in anticipation of an attempted steal, squeeze play, or hit-and-run play.

   On a botched pitchout by the Oakland battery, Santana stole his first base since last September.

2. Football. a lateral pass thrown behind the line of scrimmage by one back, especially a T-formation quarterback, to another.

   Freeman took a pitchout and went 42 yards around left end for the score.

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Etymology

Origin of pitchout

An Americanism dating back to 1910–15; noun use of verb phrase pitch out

Example Sentences

Already gone are the perfunctory balls thrown in an intentional walk, which means that one of baseball’s great, rare delights — seeing a batter lean over and hit a lazy pitchout — has disappeared forever.

From Washington Post • Mar. 18, 2022

Fleming took the ball on a pitchout and was running to his right.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 6, 2021

He took one shot to the head from linebacker Eli Harold late in the game after a pitchout on an option play, but quickly got to his feet. 

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 18, 2016

A pitchout, a lateral, the worst thing that can happen to a golfer; a ball that goes off the heel of the club face and squirts directly at the gallery.

From Golf Digest • May 6, 2016

My second touchdown was a fifty-two-yarder on a pitchout from Brill.

From "Crash" by Jerry Spinelli