HOUSTON -- Needing a win to keep their championship hopes alive on Tuesday night in Game 6 of the World Series, the Nationals took the first lead -- on the way to forcing a Game 7 with a 7-2 victory over the Astros at Minute Maid Park -- behind a player who hasn’t produced much this series.

• World Series presented by YouTube TV, Game 7: Tonight, 8 p.m. ET on FOX

Following torrid performances in the National League Division Series, Anthony Rendon entered Game 6 batting just .200 (4-for-20) with a .573 OPS in the Fall Classic. But he ripped an RBI single off Justin Verlander in the first inning at Minute Maid Park, giving the Nats a one-run lead in the win-or-go-home game.

Trea Turner led off the game with a chopper to third base that Alex Bregman fielded and fired to first. Initially called out, Turner was ruled safe after a replay review. He then proceeded to second base on Adam Eaton’s sacrifice bunt.

That brought up Rendon, an NL MVP Award candidate whose bat fell mostly quiet after producing a .414 average with a home run, four doubles, seven RBIs and seven runs scored over the Nationals’ first two playoff series (excluding the Wild Card Game). Rendon ran the count full before dumping a Verlander slider into right-center field for an RBI single.

Consider that significant for a Nats team that also scored twice off Verlander in the first inning of World Series Game 2. Verlander has allowed a Major League record 10 runs in the first inning of games this postseason, compared to seven runs in all other innings combined. No one else has allowed more than eight first-inning runs in a single postseason.

Washington didn't hold the lead throughout the game, however, relinquishing it in the bottom of the first before re-taking it for good in the fifth. George Springer led off the bottom of the inning with a double off Stephen Strasburg and advanced to third on a wild pitch, then scored on Jose Altuve’s game-tying sacrifice fly, and Bregman smashed a solo home run to the Crawford Boxes to give Houston a one-run lead after the opening frame.