pick off

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• verb literally To remove by picking.
• verb To shoot one by one.
• verb To dispose of tasks, obstacles, opponents etc. one by one.
• verb baseball To throw out a runner by tagging them whilst they are not in contact with any of the three bases or home plate.
• verb To intercept, such as a ball in flight.
• noun baseball An instance of throwing out a batter leading off base.