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Philadelphia Phillies right fielder Nick Castellanos initially was called out despite easily beating the throw to first. Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

Watch: Fill-in umpire has awful game with three calls overturned in Phillies vs. Nationals

By Adam Gretz | Last updated 8/8/23

The jump from Triple-A to the major leagues is not just a significant one for players. It is also steep for umpires, and Lew Williams found that out the hard way on Tuesday afternoon.

Williams was serving as a fill-in umpire for the first game of a doubleheader between the Philadelphia Phillies and Washington Nationals and had three calls at first base overturned by replay all within the first three innings of the game.

That is a rough start.

The issues for Williams began in the second inning when he called Washington's Ildemaro Vargas out at first base on a ground ball to pitcher Zach Wheeler. But replay showed that Phillies first basemen Bryce Harper did not have his foot on the bag when receiving the throw, resulting in the play being overturned.

Top 2nd - @Nationals challenge call that Ildemaro Vargas is out at 1B; call overturned, definitively determined that the fielder's foot was not touching the base when the ball contacted the interior of his glove, runner is safe. Powered by @Zoom. pic.twitter.com/eOWy1RLILD
— MLB Replays (@MLBReplays) August 8, 2023

OK, it happens. Nothing too out of the ordinary. Just a bad start.

But things really got worse one inning later when he had consecutive plays overturned, resulting a loud round of boos from the Philadelphia crowd.

The sequence started when Philadelphia's Nick Castellanos was called out, only to have the Phillies challenge the call resulting in its overturn when it was shown that he was safe.

Absolutely brutal sequence from umpire Lew Williams:

Part 1: While Ildemaro Vargas makes a great play on a Nick Castellanos grounder, Castellanos easily beat the throw

Williams called him out. It was overturned. pic.twitter.com/AJn3tCX3ep
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) August 8, 2023

Another tough call, and certainly not the start he wanted for his game. Certainly there is nowhere to from here but up. Wrong. The very next play involved Washington's Trevor Williams attempting to pick Castellanos off at first base, with Williams initially calling him out. The Phillies again challenged and replay again showed that Williams had missed the call, resulting in its overturn.

Part 2: Trevor Williams throws over to first base. Williams again rules Castellanos out. The Phillies again challenge.

Not quite as bad as the previous play. But this, too, was overturned.

Unsurprisingly, the Philadelphia fans were not happy with the umpire. pic.twitter.com/n4wE4VsbHp
— The Comeback (@thecomeback) August 8, 2023

The good news is replay exists for these exact moments. The bad news is that is a really forgettable day for Williams, and he could not have picked a worse possible stadium for that to happen given the response he got from the fans.

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