MLB playoffs 2021 - How a word with no English equivalent helped Astros get one win from World Series - ESPN

It's also the word Houston Astros pitching coach Brent Strom used with his pitchers in a meeting before Game 4 of the American League Championship Series on Tuesday.

The message he delivered might be the difference-maker in this series, because over the following two days, Astros pitchers held the previously red-hot Boston Red Sox offense to just three runs -- and the Stros are returning to Houston with a 3-2 series lead.

"I talked to them about getting out of their comfort zone and taking it a step further," Strom told ESPN after the Astros' 9-1 win in Game 5 on Wednesday.

Strom got 7⅔ innings of scoreless baseball from his pen in Game 4, then got the performance of the series in the form of lefty starter Framber Valdez, who went eight innings in Game 5.

Valdez took "sisu" to heart after a bad start in Game 1, when he lasted just 2⅔ innings.

"Walks have been an issue in the past, but we saw him throw a lot of strikes today," Strom said of Valdez.

In Valdez's only moment of trouble, it wasn't Strom who went to the mound to talk to him; it was Astros manager Dusty Baker.

Strom reiterated to Valdez before the game, as he had in their pitchers meeting the night before, that he needed to get ahead in the count.

On Wednesday, Valdez threw just 14.

"In the first game, even in our place, he was amped up," Strom said of Valdez.

"This is a very good Red Sox offense, which controls the strike zone very well," Strom said.

The feeling at Fenway Park after Game 3 was that the series might not go back to Houston

"It's just about determination and grit, going beyond your comfort zone," Strom said