Robles on his triumphant return to the lineup: "It felt great"

BOSTON – It had been 25 days since his last game with the Nationals. And it had been three days and two games since he had been activated off the injured list. But on Friday night, Victor Robles finally made his return to a big league game.

And what a triumphant return it was.

Robles landed on the IL on April 4 with a left hamstring strain, another frustrating injury sidelining the soon-to-be 27-year-old outfielder who is trying to find a place in this organization’s future. He ended up missing 29 games, the most by any injured Nats player this year, not including the three on the 60-day IL.

Although he was reinstated Tuesday afternoon, he didn’t play in either game against the Orioles. And then Thursday’s off-day prolonged his return even more.

But finally Robles saw his name written on the lineup card yesterday inside the visiting clubhouse at Fenway Park, batting ninth and playing right field instead of his usual position in center field. It didn’t matter. He was finally playing.

Of course, when a player returns from the injured list, the ball usually finds him first.

In the bottom of the first inning, the Red Sox put two runners on against Patrick Corbin with two outs. Connor Wong slapped a single into right, one-hopping a charging Robles. Tyler O’Neill rounded third base and headed home, looking to give Boston an early lead.

Not on Robles’ watch. He had waited too long for this moment.

Playing in Fenway’s large and awkward right field for the first time, Robles scooped the ball and made a running throw to the plate. For a split second, it looked like he had thrown it too far up the third base line for Keibert Ruiz to make a play. But in fact, the throw led the catcher into a perfect position to catch the ball and tag the runner before he could leap around him and tag the plate.

“As soon as I saw the ball coming, I knew I had a chance to throw him out,” Robles said via interpreter Octavio Martinez. “I was just trying to focus on making a good throw with one bounce. Luckily, it did tail towards the right side, but luckily it tailed towards the runner and I was still able to make it on the one bounce. I was happy with that.”

Although he got the out, Robles wasn’t too happy with the throw he made. There is still an adjustment to be made moving from center to right. But his manager disagreed and told him it was the perfect throw.

“He was good. We know Vic can play some defense. He did really well in right field,” Davey Martinez said. “It's a different throw over there in right field. He said, 'Man, I threw the ball too far up the line.' I go, 'No, you want to throw it on the third base side of home plate. You don't want to throw it to the other side. That was a perfect throw. And you got rid of it really quick.' He did good.”

The top of the third brought Robles to the plate for the first time while he was still searching for his first hit of the season.

Showing good command of the strike zone, he perfectly pulled a low slider from Tanner Houck into left field with two outs. It would have extended the inning, but Trey Lipscomb was thrown out at home trying to score from second.

It still counted as a hit, and Robles was able to do the team’s hip-wiggle celebration for the first time.

Robles then again had to make a difficult play in the sixth. Connor Wong led off by hitting Derek Law’s first pitch right at the Pesky Pole in the short right field corner. It’s a difficult play, for sure, but Robles made the running catch against the short wall for the out. He winced a bit as he walked back to his spot, but he shook it off to stay in the game.

“In the moment, I hit it and hit my rib a little bit. And it kind of took the wind out of me,” he said. “So that was the biggest thing. But I feel fine afterwards. And right now, it's just a little tight but nothing big.”

Over his eight-year career, Robles has played right field in only 23 games, while making 97.6 percent of his appearances in center. But Fenway’s large right field made it feel like he was still playing in center.

“When I first got out there, it felt like center field,” he said. “There was so much open space that I felt like I was in center. But I didn't pressure myself at all. I just went out there and just treated it like anything else.”

Then came his final at-bat in the ninth. With the Nats having just extended their lead to 4-1, Robles turned on an high-and-tight cutter from Kenley Jansen and deposited it down the left field line to score Lipscomb from second.

Now with a 5-1 lead, closer Kyle Finnegan could take a seat in the bullpen while Jacob Barnes came in to close out the game. A small, but significant development late in the game, thanks to Robles.

“He stayed on the ball really well,” Davey Martinez said. “He tried to stay on the fastball and hit it the other way. He got a couple of breaking balls that he was able to pull. But he did really well, he really did. I was very pleased and very proud of him. Let's see what we get tomorrow.”

There is still plenty of season left for Robles to play. But for now, he can enjoy his triumphant return.

"It felt great. I felt very good," he said. "Even better after I was able to contribute to help the team win. It felt great.”