How to Use pinch-hit in a Sentence

pinch-hit

1 of 2 verb
  • Nathaniel Lowe pinch-hit for Narváez, and popped out.
    — Gabrielle Starr, Boston Herald, 13 Sep. 2025
  • He was pinch-hit for in the seventh inning.
    — Marc Topkin, The Orlando Sentinel, 28 June 2026
  • With the game already out of hand, Ohtani was pinch-hit for in the fifth.
    — Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 27 May 2026
  • And Ryan Wynn, who came in and got that pinch-hit’s got a couple.
    — Sarah Spencer, AJC.com, 2 Apr. 2026
  • Lux was not in the lineup for Game 2 but was available to pinch-hit.
    — Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 14 Oct. 2024
  • This was his first pinch-hit at-bat since May 28, 2024.
    — Matt Gelb, New York Times, 15 Apr. 2026
  • Travis Chestnut pinch-hit for Kiel II and drew a walk.
    — Tony Catalina, Austin American Statesman, 14 Feb. 2026
  • With two runners on, the Dodgers brought Will Smith off the bench to pinch-hit.
    — Bill Plunkett, Oc Register, 2 June 2025
  • Ohtani was hit by a line drive and was pinch-hit for later in the game, but reportedly will not miss time.
    — Aaliyan Mohammed, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Aug. 2025
  • Eighteen players have at least 100 pinch-hits in their career.
    — Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 22 Jan. 2026
  • Eighteen players have at least 100 pinch-hits in their career.
    — Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 13 Jan. 2025
  • Eighteen players have at least 100 pinch-hits in their career.
    — Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 22 Jan. 2024
  • Melvin had Wilmer Flores pinch-hit for Smith in the bottom of the fourth.
    — Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 14 Sep. 2025
  • The second/third baseman was not available Tuesday night to pinch-hit.
    — Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 19 June 2025
  • That is, until he was sent to pinch-hit for DH Gavin Lux in the eighth.
    — C. Trent Rosecrans, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2025
  • Dalton Rushing came off the bench to pinch-hit and bounced a ground ball to Arraez at first.
    — Bill Plunkett, Oc Register, 23 Aug. 2025
  • In that inning, Sheets was called on to pinch-hit for Ty France and grounded out.
    — Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Apr. 2026
  • The two players who pinch-hit in those spots got hits, including the homer by O’Hearn.
    — Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 Aug. 2025
  • Iglesias drew a walk and singled before Cronenworth pinch-hit to face a righty in the sixth.
    — Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Apr. 2025
  • Sanchez was then removed from the game as Schumaker pinch-hit for him in the bottom of the inning.
    — Andre Fernandez, Miami Herald, 2 May 2024
  • The outfielder was not in the lineup for Tuesday night’s game but was available to pinch-hit.
    — Mike Digiovanna, Los Angeles Times, 26 June 2024
  • Rodolfo Durán pinch-hit for Hunt in the ninth inning and caught the final two innings.
    — Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 June 2026
  • Padres manager Mike Shildt last night chose to pinch-hit for his catcher in the fifth inning.
    — Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 July 2025
  • Mack pinch-hit for Brian Navarreto to start the seventh and hit the ball off the wall in center.
    — Miami Herald, 2 July 2026
  • Roberts puts him in a platoon role and pinch-hits for him but not for Andy Pages or Gavin Lux.
    — Los Angeles Times, 20 Apr. 2024
  • Axl Rose even stepped in as a pinch-hitting lead vocalist in 2016.
    — Christopher Knight, Los Angeles Times, 2 Apr. 2025
  • Valdez pinch-hit and delivered an RBI single.
    — CBS News, 25 June 2026
  • Valdez pinch-hit and delivered an RBI single.
    — ABC News, 24 June 2026
  • Rookie Jesús Rodríguez pinch-hit for Adames in the top of the sixth, then stayed in the game and played left field.
    — Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 19 May 2026
  • Sheets was 0-for-2 with a walk before Jose Iglesias pinch-hit for him in the eighth inning.
    — Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Aug. 2025

pinch hit

2 of 2 noun
  • Trevor Larnach pinch hit for Lewis in the eighth inning.
    — Dan Hayes, New York Times, 18 May 2026
  • Caratini had come in to pinch hit for Matt Wallner.
    — Betsy Helfand, Twin Cities, 29 Apr. 2026
  • Bichette played second in Game 1 but only pinch hit in Game 2.
    — Greg Rosenstein, NBC news, 28 Oct. 2025
  • Guerrero left the contest in the fifth inning when Ty France pinch hit in his place.
    — Mitch Bannon, New York Times, 19 Aug. 2025
  • The next inning, Dalton Rushing pinch hit for him.
    — Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 27 May 2026
  • Roberts could have opted to pinch hit for Rojas in the moment, but elected to trust his gut.
    — Katie Woo, New York Times, 2 Nov. 2025
  • Benitendi pinch hit in the ninth and grounded out to second.
    — Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune, 20 June 2026
  • Two innings later, though, Ty France pinch hit for Guerrero.
    — Mitch Bannon, New York Times, 19 Aug. 2025
  • What started as a Meatless Monday option quickly filled in to pinch hit any day of the week.
    — Nina Moskowitz, Bon Appetit Magazine, 5 Oct. 2025
  • That’s because the Giants don’t expect to pinch hit much for their everyday players.
    — Andrew Baggarly, New York Times, 24 Mar. 2026
  • New York’s Rusty Staub tied a season record with his eighth consecutive pinch hit.
    — Assistant Sports Editor, Los Angeles Times, 26 June 2026
  • Stanton’s clutch pinch hit tiebreaking two-run homer on Wednesday occurred in his 1,695th career game.
    — Larry Fleisher, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2025
  • Seaman is impressed with Fleck’s workload of helping out area parishes when they are shorthanded and need someone to come in and pinch hit for a mass or two.
    — Jeff Vorva, Chicago Tribune, 8 June 2026
  • With his team down by a run in the bottom of the ninth, Araúz pinch hit for Allen Córdoba and grounded out weakly to second base.
    — Melissa Lockard, New York Times, 11 Mar. 2026
  • Trailing 7-0, Cox sent up the 24-year-old Maddox to pinch hit for pitcher Craig Skok.
    — Doug Haller, New York Times, 1 June 2026
  • Barger’s blast was the first ever pinch hit grand slam in World Series history, according to the Fox broadcast.
    — Jacob Lev, CNN Money, 25 Oct. 2025
  • Marmol also didn’t want to use Donovan in the field Monday, and preferred to deploy him only for a pinch hit opportunity with the game on the line.
    — Katie Woo, New York Times, 12 Aug. 2025
  • Fulford came in to pinch hit for Sterlin Thompson and doubled into the gap between left and center field to put Colorado up 4-3.
    — ABC News, 19 June 2026
  • Fulford came in to pinch hit for Sterlin Thompson and doubled into the gap between left and center field to put Colorado up 4-3.
    — CBS News, 20 June 2026
  • Smith’s availability could make Dalton Rushing a left-handed hitting pinch hit option, if necessary.
    — Fabian Ardaya, New York Times, 4 Oct. 2025
  • Plus, because four of the five outfielders bat lefty, including Yoshida, none will offer a platoon advantage unless one of the other righty bench options pinch hits first.
    — Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 5 Feb. 2026
  • Vinnie Pasquantino missed his second straight start because of lower back tightness but pinch hit in the ninth and hit a game-ending flyout with a man on against Jack Perkins, who got his third save.
    — CBS News, 30 Apr. 2026
  • Perhaps the threat of having Tucker available to pinch hit off the bench remains a weapon manager Craig Counsell is unwilling to surrender.
    — Jon Paul Hoornstra, MSNBC Newsweek, 21 Aug. 2025
  • If Scott had thrown a scoreless inning and sent the game into the 10th, Roberts planned to have Ohtani pinch hit for Miguel Rojas, the third batter due up.
    — Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 5 June 2026
  • With runners on second and third, Cora pinch hit Masataka Yoshida for Rob Refsnyder.
    — Jen McCaffrey, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2025
  • Major league homers leader Kyle Schwarber, out of the starting lineup with lower back tightness, pinch hit with two outs and walked against Orlando Ribalta.
    — CBS News, 24 June 2026
  • Roberts said Ohtani would be available to pinch hit if the situation called for it against the Giants on Thursday, but Ohtani showed up later than usual and had a more relaxed pregame routine.
    — Bill Plunkett, Oc Register, 15 May 2026
  • Another pinch hit, for color guard duties, came from the NJROTC at Canyon Hills High School.
    — Lucas Robinson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Nov. 2025
  • Masataka Yoshida, who pinch hit for Rob Refsnyder, poked a two-run single in the seventh inning, giving Boston a 2-1 lead.
    — Chris Kirschner, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2025
  • Busch, benched from the starting lineup, pinch hit for Matt Shaw with two outs in the eighth after a pair of walks by Justin Lawrence and looped an opposite-field single into short left that tied the score 6-6.
    — CBS News, 12 Apr. 2026

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

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