When Victor Robles' usually boisterous personality was toned down over the weekend at Fenway Park, Nationals manager Dave Martinez took notice.

“I keep a close eye on him,” Martinez said Tuesday. “He’s a high-energy guy, he’s very outspoken, he likes to goof around. The last few days in Boston, he was kind of quiet, not himself. I saw some bad jumps in the outfield, and I thought that his legs were just getting heavy on him.”

Martinez looked into the analytics and saw Robles’ bat speed was down. The ultra-athletic center fielder, who earned Play of the Week honors with a head-turning double play against the Phillies, is batting .200 (5-for-25) with nine strikeouts in his last seven games.

With a demanding stretch of games ahead, including a doubleheader on Friday in Atlanta, Martinez decided to give Robles a rest for a second straight game on Tuesday in Philadelphia.

“When he looks like he’s a little heavy, a little sluggish, I’m going to take care of him,” Martinez said. “He’s a big part of this future and a big part of this organization. We’ve got a lot of games coming up. ... I’ll get him two days and get him rejuvenated and get him back out there and let him play with that energy we’re accustomed to him playing with.”

Michael A. Taylor started in center field Tuesday for the second straight night. He hit his third home run of the season in the series opener on Monday at Citizens Bank Park.

“With Michael and him, I believe we’ve got two of the best center fielders in the game,” Martinez said. “Michael doesn’t miss a beat out there.”

Soto chatting at the plate
If Juan Soto looks like he is more talkative during his at-bats when the Nationals play the Phillies, that’s because he is. Soto has already formed a friendly relationship with Philadelphia catcher J.T. Realmuto in his young Major League career.

“He’s one of my favorites because he’s always happy,” Soto said after hitting two home runs on Monday. “He just tries to do his job behind there. Some catchers, they’re always mad, they always try to get you. That’s why I don’t talk with everybody, I just try to be nice with them. But Realmuto, he’s a really nice guy.”

Soto has plenty to talk about when he faces the Phillies -- three of his seven career multi-homer games have come in Philadelphia.

Player pool additions
The Nationals are continuing to get a look at their future talents, adding outfielder Jeremy De La Rosa (the club’s No. 15 prospect, per MLB Pipeline) and right-hander Sterling Sharp (No. 26) to the 60-man player pool. Martinez spoke of the value of the organization’s prospects after the Nats did not make any moves at the Trade Deadline on Monday, saying: “They’re going to get an opportunity to play -- play and help us win games.”

On this date in 2005
Tuesday marks the 15-year anniversary of Ryan Zimmerman’s Major League debut. On Sept. 1, 2005, he took one at-bat as a pinch-hitter in the Nats’ 8-7 loss to the Braves in Atlanta. Zimmerman struck out looking against Jim Brower in the seventh inning. The following game, Zimmerman recorded his first big league hit when he doubled off Vicente Padilla of the Phillies. Zimmerman, who elected not to play this season, is the team’s all-time leader in hits, home runs and RBIs, among other categories.