in the dirt
idiom
baseball, of a pitch
: having hit the ground near home plate before reaching the catcher
He swung and missed at a curveball in the dirt.
Examples of in the dirt in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Alex Verdugo, the runner on third, scored when catcher Luis Torrens failed to block a ball in the dirt and tried to field it using his mask.
—
Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 19 June 2025
The rookie fell behind 0-2 before laying off a changeup in the dirt, and then when Rays starter Ryan Pepiot went to the changeup again, Anthony lined one down the left field line to put the Red Sox on top.
—Mac Cerullo, Hartford Courant, 11 June 2025
And after taking a slider in the dirt and swinging at one below the zone, Machado reached down just below the zone to top-spin another slider onto the grass in shallow left field.
—Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 June 2025
Jeffers then struggled to block a 1-2 sweeper in the dirt, which allowed Santana to move to third.
—Dan Hayes, New York Times, 1 May 2025
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Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 19 June 2025
The rookie fell behind 0-2 before laying off a changeup in the dirt, and then when Rays starter Ryan Pepiot went to the changeup again, Anthony lined one down the left field line to put the Red Sox on top.
—Mac Cerullo, Hartford Courant, 11 June 2025
And after taking a slider in the dirt and swinging at one below the zone, Machado reached down just below the zone to top-spin another slider onto the grass in shallow left field.
—Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 June 2025
Jeffers then struggled to block a 1-2 sweeper in the dirt, which allowed Santana to move to third.
—Dan Hayes, New York Times, 1 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for in the dirt
Cite this Entry
“In the dirt.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/in%20the%20dirt. Accessed 27 Jun. 2025.
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