Rainout may help Angels

Game 6 at Yankee Stadium was postponed by heavy rain, which will enable the Angels to use top starter John Lackey tomorrow if they can force a seventh and deciding game.

“I don’t see how this hurts us,’’ said Los Angeles center fielder Torii Hunter, who on Friday predicted the Angels would “shock the world’’ by rallying to beat the Yankees. “Our pitching was a little beat up. We’ll be fine now.’’

Game 6 will be tonight with the first pitch at 8:20. If needed, a seventh game will be tomorrow at 7:57 p.m.

The Angels will stick with lefthander Joe Saunders tonight. Manager Mike Scioscia did not name a starter for Game 7, but said Lackey could get the assignment on three days’ rest.

“It’s going to give us more options to look at, absolutely,’’ Scioscia said. “We’ll have our whole staff out there for [today]. John Lackey is still in play. We’ll get through Game 6. There is no point talking about a Game 7.’’

Lackey started Games 1 and 5 in the series, giving up five earned runs on 15 hits over 12 1/3 innings. He is 5-7 with a 4.66 ERA in 16 regular-season starts against the Yankees.

Yankees manager Joe Girardi said the ramifications of the rainout were not something he would spend a lot of time analyzing. With his team ahead, three games to two, in the series, the Yankees are worried only about the next game and getting back to the World Series for the first time since 2003.

“Our focus is completely on Game 6. Does it give one team an advantage or not? I don’t know,’’ Girardi said. “Maybe the extra day helps us more. I’m not really sure. I’m sure there will be a lot written about it. But I don’t know.’’

The gates to Yankee Stadium opened at 5 p.m. yesterday. The game was postponed approximately an hour later, and that proved to be the correct call as heavy rain started to fall shortly thereafter, accompanied by occasional lightning. The only player who took the field for any length of time was Yankees starter Andy Pettitte, who played catch in the rain, then ran a series of sprints on the muddy warning track in right field.

“The worst part of it is just the wait,’’ Pettitte said before embarking on his soggy workout session. “This was the longest day ever. And I was just about to start getting in my routine and they come walking in there and tell me it got canceled.

“It’s just frustrating from the standpoint it’s just such a long day, when you’re so ready and so anxious to get the game going. So you go home, go out here, go through my routine again and go home and have a dinner, and do my thing tomorrow.’’

The Yankees are sticking with Pettitte as their starter for Game 6 and will save CC Sabathia for Game 7. Pettitte is tied with John Smoltz for the most victories in postseason history with 15.

“I would hope that they have a lot of confidence in me and hope that they think I can get this game and we can win this game with me on the mound,’’ Pettitte said.

Girardi did not seriously entertain the idea of starting Sabathia on three days’ rest.

“We like the guy we have going,’’ he said. “CC has been great, but Andy will pitch.’’

The rainout also adds greater significance to tonight’s game for the Yankees. If Sabathia were needed for a Game 7, he would be unable to pitch in the World Series until Game 3 at the earliest.

“Hopefully it doesn’t get to that point,’’ Sabathia said. “Andy should get the start.’’

Boredom has become an opponent for both teams, who have played only eight games in the last 20 days. Major League Baseball inserted an extra day off into the League Championship Series three years ago to give teams extra days to set their pitching staffs for the World Series.

Scioscia said he would rather the postseason be played at a pace more similar to the regular season.

“Taking us 20 days to play eight games? I think that’s the wrong template for baseball,’’ he said.

But the rain left the teams no choice but to kill another day. For slumping Yankees right fielder Nick Swisher, whom Girardi kept in the lineup, that meant more work in the batting cage. The Angels worked their cell phones, seeking dinner reservations in Manhattan.

“All we can do is wait,’’ Hunter said. “Hopefully this helps us and not them. We’ll find out once we play.’’

Peter Abraham can be reached at pabraham@globe.com.