abstract:In baseball, the cleanup hitter is the hitter who bats fourth in the lineup. Although the third man up is generally the hitter with the highest batting average, cleanup hitters often have the most power on the team and are typically the team's best power hitter; their job is to "clean up the bases", hence the name.
He struck out Wright looking, retired cleanuphitter John Buck on a fielder's choice grounder and whiffed Davis with runners at the corners to keep the score tied.