World Series or bust: Do the Atlanta Braves have any real threats?
Mackenzie Salmon and former MLB catcher Erik Kratz discuss the dominance of the Atlanta Braves this year and if they’re bound to win it all.
Sports Seriously, USA TODAY
Athletes have off days sometimes and umpires are no different. Fill-in umpire Lew Williams had one of those days during Tuesday’s Phillies-Nationals game.
Through three innings, Williams — called up from Triple-A — had three of his calls at first base overturned after review, including two within one pitch.
First, Phillies right fielder Nick Castellanos hit a ball toward Nationals third baseman Ildemaro Vargas that required Vargas to make the throw from his knees. Castellanos clearly beat the throw, but Williams called him out, sending out the boo birds in the City of Brotherly Love. The Phillies challenged the play and won, but it didn’t end there.
Moments later, Nationals pitcher Trevor Williams attempted to pick off Castellanos. Williams called the right fielder out, but, again, the Phillies challenged and won, sending out more boos from the crowd.
The first blown call occurred in the second inning when Zack Wheeler’s throw to Bryce Harper at first failed to get Vargas out. It didn’t matter to Williams who called Vargas out, only for the Nationals to challenge and overturn the call.
Williams shook off his slow start and remained clean the rest of the game. The Phillies ended up beating the Nationals 8-4.
