Several basic offensive tactics come into play with a runner on first
base, including the fundamental choice of whether to attempt a steal of
second base. The hit and run is sometimes employed with a skillful contact hitter:
the runner takes off with the pitch drawing the shortstop or second
baseman over to second base, creating a gap in the infield for the
batter to poke the ball through. The sacrifice bunt
calls for the batter to focus on making contact with the ball so that
it rolls a short distance into the infield, allowing the runner to
advance into scoring position
even at the expense of the batter being thrown out at first—a batter
who succeeds is credited with a sacrifice. (A batter, particularly one
who is a fast runner, may also attempt to bunt for a hit.) A sacrifice bunt employed with a runner on third base, aimed at bringing that runner home, is known as a squeeze play.
With a runner on third and fewer than two outs, a batter may instead
concentrate on hitting a fly ball that, even if it is caught, will be
deep enough to allow the runner to tag up and score—a successful batter
in this case gets credit for a sacrifice fly. The manager will sometimes signal a batter who is ahead in the count (i.e., has more balls than strikes) to take, or not swing at, the next pitch.