A month into the 2019 season, the Yankees were a sliver above .500 and their lineup was jarring. As the team faced the San Francisco Giants on April 26, five Yankees who had started on opening day were on the injured list, including the star outfielders Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton. Key pitchers such as Luis Severino and Dellin Betances had been out since spring training.

The Yankees’ starting left fielder that day? Infielder Thairo Estrada, who missed most of the 2018 season because of a gunshot wound he sustained during a robbery attempt in his native Venezuela during the off-season. It was Estrada’s third major league game, yet he was playing the outfield for the first time in his life.

“We have a new face in our locker room every day,” first baseman Luke Voit said then. “It’s fun, man, because no one thinks we should be winning these games.”

Somehow, the Yankees won that game — and many more after that, despite countless cortisone shots, X-rays and trips to the doctor. And on Thursday , the team nicknamed the Hodgepodge Yankees, the Scranton Yankees (a nod to their Class AAA team) and the B-Team Bombers secured the franchise’s first American League East title since 2012 with a 9-1 win over the Los Angeles Angels.