HOUSTON — This setting, this moment, this pitcher. The patient, painstaking construction of an ace — it was all leading to Game 6 of the World Series on Tuesday at Minute Maid Park, when the Washington Nationals needed a savior and turned to Stephen Strasburg. They trusted him because that is what they do.

They trusted in his promise in 2009, with the first overall pick in the draft. They trusted in his long-term future in 2012, when they benched him for the playoffs to protect his arm after surgery. They trusted in his commitment in 2016, when they gave him a $175 million contract.

At every step, Strasburg has rewarded the Nationals’ faith. He passed his biggest test of all on Tuesday night with a World Series performance for the ages against the Houston Astros: eight and a third innings, with two runs allowed in the first and none thereafter in a 7-2 victory.

“Stras went out there and had the game of his life,” said Max Scherzer, who will start Game 7 against Zack Greinke on Wednesday night. Later, he added, “The job he did for us, the effort, that’s just world class.”