BOSTON -- Victor Robles is an outfielder. Beyond that, he is an elite athlete.

Manager Dave Martinez was confident tabbing Robles at a position he has not played since 2019 in his first game back since April 3.

Robles, a two-time Gold Glove Award finalist in center field, made his 24th career start in right in the Nationals’ 5-1 victory against the Red Sox on Friday. In his return from missing 29 games because of a left hamstring strain, Robles was tasked with covering the expansive right field at Fenway Park.

“I always feel like if you can play center field, you can play the corners as well,” said Martinez.

Robles saw early action against the Red Sox. With two outs and two on in the first inning, Patrick Corbin allowed a line-drive single to Connor Wong into right field. Tyler O’Neill attempted to score from second base, and Robles fired the ball to Keibert Ruiz to apply the tag ahead of home.

Robles was not sure if he had thrown the ball too far up the third-base line, but Martinez assured him he approached it from the correct angle and lauded him for getting the ball in quickly.

“A huge defensive play there put a zero on the board and kept the score where it’s at,” said Corbin, who earned his first win of the season. “It’s nice having two center fielders out there running around. Obviously, defense is huge and when we play clean defense, we’re in all these games. It’s a plus to see Victor back, and to have plays like that is awesome.”

In the sixth inning, Robles collided with the right-field wall chasing down a fly ball by Wong in front of the Pesky Pole. Robles made the catch on Garrett Cooper’s fly out two at-bats later. In spite of displaying signs of discomfort in that inning, Robles remained in the game.

“In the moment, I hit my rib a little bit and it kind of took the wind out of me,” Robles said. “I felt fine afterwards. Right now, it’s just a little tight, but nothing big.”

Robles’ return was a complete game. He collected his first hits (2-for-4) and RBI of the season, and he stole a base. This was his first multi-hit game since June 20 of last season against the Cardinals.

Adding to a first-inning single, Robles gave the Nationals an insurance run in the ninth frame. His line drive into left field off Kenley Jansen plated Trey Lipscomb from second base. Robles then joined the Nationals’ base-stealing frenzy and robbed second, demonstrating Martinez’s belief he and Jacob Young could “cause havoc on the bases” in the lineup together.

“He was staying on the ball really well,” said Martinez. “He tried to stay on the fastball, hit it the other way. He got a couple breaking balls that he was able to pull. But he did really well, he really did. I was very pleased, very proud of him.”

Robles has been eager to be healthy and play any spot in the outfield following a string of injuries. Last season, he appeared in just 36 games because of back spasms. He looked poised for a comeback in Spring Training, only to get sidelined again by his left hamstring.

After Robles was sidelined early in the season, Young was called up from Triple-A Rochester. Young excelled, playing solid defense and bringing a speedy spark to the lineup that prompted Martinez to move him to the lead-off hitter spot.

When Robles was cleared to return, Martinez did not want to disrupt the rhythm Young had established. With Lane Thomas (left MCL sprain) and Joey Gallo (left shoulder AC sprain) on the injured list, there was a vacancy in right field. Martinez had platooned Robles and Eddie Rosario in center field at the start of the season, and they are sharing playing time in right, too.

In preparation for the shift, the Nationals tasked Robles with playing right field during his rehab assignment with Rochester.

“I’m very happy that they have confidence in me and my playing ability to be able to move me around so I can play different positions as well,” Robles said when he was reinstated from the IL on Tuesday. “That’s obviously comforting. I felt good out there running around. Everything’s very similar, the angles are a little different. I’ll try to get used to them a little bit.”

Robles fought for over a month to get healthy. On Friday, he fought to help the Nationals take the series opener and improve to one game over .500.

“I felt great,” Robles said. “I felt very good, and even better after I was able to contribute to help the team win.”