While the Yankees had already fought back in the inning, it seemed like another walk-off opportunity was going to pass them by in the 12th inning. After a ridiculously dumb game that had seen them struggle against Twins rookie Louie Varland in his MLB debut, they had rallied, but failed to seize their chances at walk-off wins in several different innings.
After Oswald Peraza failed to add his three-hit day, the 12th was left up to former Triple-A Scranton teammate Oswaldo Cabrera, who had been in a terrible slump of late: 0-for-25. Sure, his defensive chops had been impressive, as he demonstrated earlier in this game, but he looked at bit lost at the plate.