on base

idiom

baseball

: occupying one of the bases (first, second, or third) during a game

There's a runner on base.

Examples of on base in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Royals starting pitcher Seth Lugo expertly navigated out of a jam in the fifth by striking out José Ramírez, leaving two players stranded on base. —

Shreyas Laddha, Kansas City Star, 5 June 2024 Since Lee’s last game May 12, the top spot in the Giants’ batting order has gotten on base at a .253 clip, ahead of only the Nationals (.228). —

Evan Webeck, The Mercury News, 4 June 2024 Advertisement Overall, Valhalla left seven runners on base, five in scoring position. —

John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 May 2024 Glenelg kept is cool, focusing on getting hits and getting runners on base. —

Sean Maslin, Baltimore Sun, 16 May 2024 Phelps was rolling along with a 5-0 shutout, scattering seven hits and leaving 10 runners on base. —

Kevin J. Farmer, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 May 2024 The offense, on the other hand, failed to capitalize with runners on base. —

Charles Baggarly, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 25 May 2024 West Aurora stranded two runners on base in each of the first two innings but couldn’t cash in. —

Paul Johnson, Chicago Tribune, 25 May 2024 Once females lay eggs, scientists incubate them in a facility on base. —

Alex Wigglesworth, Los Angeles Times, 23 May 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'on base.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.