In baseball terminology, to put runners on base early in an inning (before there are two outs), preferably before your better (power) hitters bat. Statistically, a team's chances for scoring runs increase dramatically if they have two or more runners on base with less than two outs.

Leads to this kind of dialogue :

"Well, Brad, the Blue Jays have set the table in front of Delgado, let's see if he can chase those runners home."