How to Use pickoff in a Sentence

pickoff

1 of 2 noun

• He made a pickoff throw to third base.
• Haase, Brieske said, was the one who called for the pickoff.
  — Tony Garcia, Detroit Free Press, 17 June 2022
• Kershaw fired a pickoff throw to first that caught Ohtani off the bag.
  — Beth Harris, Baltimore Sun, 20 July 2022
• Cueto has one of the game’s great pickoff moves, and the news about the step-off rule caught him off guard.
  — John Shea, San Francisco Chronicle, 11 Mar. 2021
• This wasn’t the first time Báez stole home on a pickoff throw to first this season.
  — Tom Verducci, SI.com, 9 July 2018
• Lyles' errant throw on a pickoff attempt in the fifth helped the D-backs push to a 3-0 lead.
  — Nick Piecoro, The Arizona Republic, 23 Sep. 2020
• But then the left-hander picked off Ohtani, the first pickoff in an All-Star Game since 2008.
  — Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 19 July 2022
• That’s a pickoff percentage of 0.7, which is tops in the NFL.
  — Jeff Miller, Los Angeles Times, 14 Nov. 2021
• The Giants scored a third as a runner scored from third on a pickoff throw to first.
  — Charlie Goldsmith, The Enquirer, 18 May 2021
• Giolito, now alert to the threat, tried a pickoff that was too late.
  — Peter Abraham, BostonGlobe.com, 24 June 2023
• The team does 30 minutes of bunting in each practice, and the pitchers all spend a chunk of time on their pickoff moves.
  — Mike Hutton, chicagotribune.com, 12 June 2021
• With Jose Trevino at the dish, down 1-2 in the count, Strahm attempted a pickoff.
  — Julian McWilliams, BostonGlobe.com, 23 Sep. 2022
• Urías then went to third when Bell let a pickoff throw get past him at first base for an error.
  — Noah Trister, Star Tribune, 23 July 2021
• The first pickoff, by Jaire Alexander, came when Dallas was backed on its own end of the field late in the first quarter.
  — USA TODAY, 14 Jan. 2024
• Smith then stole second and got to third when Peacock threw the ball away on a pickoff attempt.
  — Bob Condotta, The Seattle Times, 13 Apr. 2019
• How will teams use the pickoff throw strategy and how will teams try to exploit it?
  — Dallas News, 8 Feb. 2023
• Henry County tied the game in the bottom of the fourth after a pickoff attempt to third base went wild.
  — Cameron Teague Robinson, The Courier-Journal, 9 June 2021
• Jose Siri led off the third with a single, stole second and went to third on an errant pickoff throw by Quantrill.
  — Joe Noga, cleveland, 25 May 2022
• Luke Edgecomb scored and Salinas went to third on an errant pickoff throw to first.
  — Rick Kretzschmar, Dallas News, 17 May 2023
• With two outs and runners on first and third, Castillo stepped off the mound and attempted a pickoff at first base.
  — Charlie Goldsmith, The Enquirer, 15 May 2022
• Gilbert even flashed his quickness with an inning-ending pickoff move in the fifth.
  — Joshua Thornton, NOLA.com, 3 Mar. 2018
• Covey was saddled with the third error, in the third inning, when his pickoff throw to first bounced by Jose Abreu.
  — Colleen Kane, chicagotribune.com, 18 June 2018
• On an errant pickoff throw to first base, Mateo went first-to-third, sliding in safely ahead of the throw.
  — Matt Kawahara, SFChronicle.com, 3 Mar. 2020
• Hammel attempted to fire a pickoff move to first base but fumbled the ball in his glove on the exchange.
  — Sam McDowell, kansascity.com, 8 June 2017
• That's when Madrigal trotted to the mound to review pickoff signs with Fehmel and catcher Adley Rutschman.
  — Ron Richmond For The Oregonian/oregonlive, OregonLive.com, 12 May 2018
• Perdomo walked three batters that inning and made a wild pickoff throw to first that sent home the run.
  — Tom Haudricourt, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 13 May 2021
• In the third, Willi Castro singled but was picked off — on the sixth pickoff attempt — by Hendricks at first base.
  — Evan Petzold, Detroit Free Press, 16 May 2021
• They are allowed to step off or attempt a pickoff throw a third time, but will be charged a balk if no out is recorded.
  — Bob Nightengale, USA TODAY, 9 Sep. 2022
• Ohtani suffered a right hamstring bruise when he was hit by a pickoff throw from Reds left-hander Brent Suter on May 16.
  — Mike Digiovanna, Los Angeles Times, 3 June 2024
• Takamura scored on an errant pickoff throw at first base and Madonna came home on a sacrifice fly to right hit by Truman Beaudoin.
  — Glenn Reeves, The Mercury News, 20 Mar. 2024

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pick off

2 of 2 verb

• Clark had a chance to get 20 assists, but her pass in the paint in the closing seconds was picked off thanks to stout defense by Dallas.
  — Bruce Haring, Deadline, 17 July 2024
• Mom picks off bad guys in the desert with her sniper rifle.
  — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 15 May 2024
• The Colts can pick off the 49ers in a close one if Wentz continues that trend.
  — Scott Horner, The Indianapolis Star, 22 Oct. 2021
• The Browns went for it on fourth-and-2 on their next drive and Flacco was picked off again.
  — Kristie Rieken, Baltimore Sun, 14 Jan. 2024
• Wolves tend to pick off the old and the weak of a herd, which benefits the health of the overall hunting stock.
  — Eleanor Cummins, The New Republic, 2 Aug. 2021
• The Kraken entered the game as a nice target for the Stars to pick off on their way to the playoffs.
  — Dallas News, 3 Apr. 2022
• When he was picked off a second time, the Irish had even less ground to cover.
  — Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2023
• The ball popped into the air and was picked off by cornerback L’Jarius Snead.
  — Jeff Miller, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2023
• Then in the third pitch of the next at-bat, Reds catcher Luke Maile picked off the runner on first base to end the inning.
  — Charlie Goldsmith, The Enquirer, 25 May 2023
• Yam Banks picked off a pass for the Jaguars moments later, keeping it a tie game at the break.
  — Creg Stephenson | [e-mail], al, 9 Sep. 2023
• Let the native predators pick off scale, mealy bugs, thrips, etc.
  — Nan Sterman, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 July 2022
• The Rams got the ball back with 5:29 left, but Stafford's third-down throw into traffic was picked off by Lenoir.
  — Scott Thompson, Fox News, 18 Sep. 2023
• Don’t prune or pick off the dry or wilted leaves as this will expose the inside of the plant to the harsh sunlight.
  — oregonlive, 19 Sep. 2021
• Insects are drawn to the lights; bats are attracted to the insects; and, the worry is, owls pick off the bats.
  — Elizabeth Kolbert, The New Yorker, 6 June 2022
• The leadoff runner was wiped away, though, when Jarvis was picked off by the catcher.
  — Nick Alvarez | [e-mail], al, 10 June 2023
• The Browns picked off Jackson twice and sacked him three times in their Nov. 12 win in Baltimore.
  — Childs Walker, Baltimore Sun, 8 Jan. 2024
• At this point, Eckersley throws to first to try and pick off Mike Davis.
  — Houston Mitchell Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 30 Apr. 2021
• Watt put his hands up on a rush just in time to pick off Stafford’s pass and returned it 19 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter.
  — oregonlive, 26 Nov. 2020
• Watt put his hands up on a rush just in time to pick off Stafford's pass and returned it 19 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter.
  — Larry Lage, Chron, 26 Nov. 2020
• That proves to be a tough task given more monks keep getting picked off and the killer looks to be whittling it down to Shardlake.
  — Randy Myers, The Mercury News, 1 May 2024
• Goodall explained how chimpanzees take sticks, pick off the leaves, and use them to poke into termite nests to get a snack.
  — Dallas News, 20 May 2022
• Pet hair is a pain to pick off fabrics before washing and to clean from your machines.
  — Carolyn Forte, Good Housekeeping, 17 Aug. 2021
• After White led off with a double he was picked off second base.
  — Tom Murphy, arkansasonline.com, 19 Feb. 2024
• During a protest, she was picked off by an Israel Defense Forces sniper.
  — Hamilton Cain, Washington Post, 30 Mar. 2023
• His pass intended for the tight end was picked off by rookie safety Jaquan Amos in the end zone near the tail end of practice.
  — Mike Preston, Baltimore Sun, 27 July 2023
• That depends on them picking off, say, Sherrod Brown in Ohio.
  — Michael Tomasky, The New Republic, 9 Aug. 2023
• The Dolphins were down 5 points and driving, and Bell was in perfect position to pick off his second pass of the game.
  — Charlie Goldsmith, The Enquirer, 30 Sep. 2022
• The first of them, early in the fourth quarter, was picked off by Cowboys safety Jayron Kearse, who returned the ball 32 yards to the Jets’ 17-yard line.
  — Ken Belson, New York Times, 18 Sep. 2023
• The Dash was either picked off by Current field players or lobbed shots off target.
  — Kylie Volavongsa, Kansas City Star, 29 June 2024
• In the eighth inning, Royals star Bobby Witt Jr. was picked off in-between first and second base.
  — Jaylon Thompson, Kansas City Star, 7 July 2024

Last Updated: 6 Sep 2024