Robles, Candelario both out of lineup for series finale

PHOENIX – The Nationals don’t have either Victor Robles or Jeimer Candelario in their lineup for today’s series finale against the Diamondbacks, the former dealing with a stiff back that knocked him out of Saturday night’s game, the latter still recovering from the bout of dehydration that landed him in the hospital Friday night.

Robles hurt himself sliding into second base on a stolen base attempt in the third inning Saturday, though he remained in the game until the following inning when Alex Call stepped in to pinch-hit for him.

Manager Davey Martinez didn’t want to take a chance putting Robles right back in the lineup today, not wanting to let a back issue get any worse for a player who runs as much as the speedy center fielder does.

“It’s definitely going to be a little bit of a concern, because of the way he plays the game,” Martinez said. “He came in here, he got treatment, he’s going to get some more treatment. We’ll keep an eye on him, and hopefully it gets better. And if it doesn’t, we’ll have to think about something else, maybe another day. I’ll talk to the trainers throughout the day and see how he’s doing.”

Candelario began to feel poor late during Friday’s game, then felt “weird” while he was showering after the game. He was treated by paramedics and was taken to a local hospital for overnight evaluation, but doctors ruled anything more serious than dehydration.

Candelario was released Saturday morning and came to Chase Field to join his teammates for a while before returning to the club hotel to rest. He was back this morning and in good spirits, confident he’ll be in the lineup Monday in San Francisco and potentially coming off the bench today if needed.

“Never scared, never nervous,” he said of the situation. “We’re human beings, and that’s what happens. That happens a lot. I feel good today, and I’m glad I’ve recovered.”

Martinez was glad to see Candelario back and feeling well, but he wasn’t ready to commit to putting him in the game today until he has more time to see how the third baseman is doing.

“We got him on a bike a little bit, tried to get him moving a little bit,” Martinez said. “Hopefully he’ll be available to come in today at some point, but I want to keep an eye on him. He was down and out for two days, so we want to make sure he’s drinking plenty of fluids. He’ll be on his feet, hitting in the cage, moving around, so we’ll see how he does.”