Matt Slocum/Associated Press
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.