Now that the Twins have secured their spot in the postseason, what more do they have to play for in the final six games of the regular season?

Entering Sunday night's game against the Cubs at Wrigley Field, the Twins were 2 1/2 games behind the White Sox for the American League Central lead, leaving a nonzero but slim possibility that the division could be in play, since Chicago holds the tiebreaker by virtue of its superior record within the division. That means the most important thing left to be decided is home-field advantage in the best-of-three Wild Card Series, a race that could come down to the final day of the season.

In the projected postseason bracket as of first pitch on Sunday, the No. 4 seed Twins (32-22) and No. 5 seed Yankees (31-22) were in a virtual dead heat. The No. 4 seed in the AL will join the three division winners in hosting the first-round matchups.

How important could this be for both the Twins and Yankees? If regular-season results are any indication, it could be significant.

"I think it’s really important for us," Jake Odorizzi said.

The Twins have an MLB-leading 21-5 record at home, with five more to play against the Tigers and Reds this coming week. The Yankees have the second-best home record at 21-7. Both teams are well below .500 on the road. With the season on the line in a best-of-three series, any edge could prove significant.

"I think our guys are just really comfortable in this environment," president of baseball operations Derek Falvey said last week. "We’ve set up our clubhouse really well, the way our guys distribute food and where they can go and how they can get set up for the game. Everyone right now, in this season, when no one’s overly comfortable at any moment in time, the most comfortable you can be is when you’re in your familiar environment."

The wrinkle, though? With every playoff team set to enter hotel quarantines in the days leading into the postseason, including the Twins on Tuesday night, all that comfort and familiarity of being at home and sleeping in one's own bed will be nullified to some extent, with teams essentially facing a road environment in their home cities. That will extend into the Wild Card Series.

To that extent, home-field advantage in the first round might offer some degree of added comfort, but the strangeness is something that every team will need to overcome in subsequent rounds of the playoffs, anyway.

"I think our guys need to be prepared for it, because while we're talking about the Wild Card round here, we're talking about every subsequent round if you want to go all the way to finish this," Falvey said. "Every team is going to be on the road. At the end of the day, that's something we need to get ready for, get used to."

With all that in mind, Falvey indicated that the Twins wouldn't necessarily go out of their way to clinch the No. 4 seed and an opportunity to host a Wild Card Series, starting next Tuesday. He noted that the priority remains in maintaining the health of the roster, and since a playoff berth has been secured, the Twins could err on the side of caution when it comes to player usage instead of pushing them in the name of home-field advantage.

"I think our guys are going to just go compete and finish the year where we finish," Falvey said. "If we start at home, great. If we start on the road, we're going to be just as prepared. I don't think anything changes in the terms of the way we go about our week. Just make sure we get our guys as healthy as possible and ready as possible for Game 1 of the playoffs."

Cruz (knee) sits again

Nelson Cruz was out of the starting lineup for a second straight game with right knee soreness on Sunday. Manager Rocco Baldelli indicated that Cruz had been playing through the issue for several days before he was scratched late from Saturday's lineup. The Twins hope that the two days off, coupled with Monday's off-day, will have Cruz ready to go by Tuesday's opener against the Tigers.

"We’re going to get him off his feet for a couple days and then see how that works, but I believe it’s going to work out just fine for him," Baldelli said. "I think the days are going to help him a lot."