Brushback pitch

Seattle Mariners shortstopBrendan Ryanbends away from a brushback pitch from Oakland Athletics pitcherTommy Milone.

Inbaseball,abrushback pitchis apitch–usually afastball–thrown high and inside thestrike zoneto intimidate thebatteraway from the plate on subsequent pitches.It differs from thebeanballin that the intent is not tohit the batter,nor does it target the batter's head.Hitters will oftencrowd the platein order to have a better swing at pitches on the outside half of the plate. The hitters hope that the pitcher will be scared to throw inside because they might hit the batter. The brushback helps apitcherto "reclaim" the corners of the strike zone by forcing the batter to stand farther away.

Play-by-play announcers sometimes call a high brushback pitch as being "high and tight." It is also referred to aschin music.

While the brushback can be an effective part of pitching, the home-plate umpire may warn or eject a pitcher he feels is intentionally trying to hit a batter.