Chapman could be ‘MGL’

ANAHEIM — Sunday will be a big day for AllStar hopefuls like Matt Chapman, but true to his style, he’s downplaying his AllStar chances.

The fans picked the starters, which were announced Thursday, and the AL third baseman is Alex Bregman of the Astros. The backup at each position has been chosen by a vote of the players, which will be revealed Sunday. If Chapman isn’t voted in, he’s likely to be the MGL — Most Gracious Loser.

“I think that Bregman is deserving of that starting spot,” Chapman said Friday, “and the other two guys (Hunter Dozier of the Royals and Gio Urshela of the Yankees, second and third in fan voting) are having great seasons, and that stuff ’s out of my control.” Still, fingers crossed?

“Of course,” Chapman said. “I’d love to play in the AllStar Game, but that’s out of my control. Either way, whatever happens I’m going to keep going about my business. I’ve got more important things, like this team.”

Chapman did get at least one vote.

“I voted for Chapman,” said A’s shortstop Marcus Semien. “I think he’s well deserving. He’s definitely one of the top three third basemen in the game. That’s one of the guys I made sure I voted for.”

Semien is also an AllStar candidate, and if he falls one vote short, he can blame himself.

“I never vote for myself,” he said. “It’s just kind of not my style. I voted for Xander (Bogaerts of the Red Sox); he’s got the best numbers in the AL for shortstops.”

UFO (Unfriendly Flying Object) sighting: Semien fielded a groundball off the bat of Justin Upton on Thursday night, then had to delay his throw to first in order to duck under a flying shard of Upton’s bat. That hit was the start of a tworun Angels rally.

“Kind of felt like I was a quarterback in the pocket, just dodging linemen,” Semien said.

He saw the flying wood, looked down to field the ball, then, “Looked up and (the bat spear) was like right in my face,” he said. “It started a big inning, but I didn’t want to get hit in the head.”

Said Chapman, “I’ll take Marcus keeping his head (in exchange) for a base hit, any day.”

Rehabbing pitchers: Lefthander A.J. Puk (Tommy John surgery) struck out four in 11⁄3 innings of relief Friday night for DoubleA Midland. He threw 35 pitches, allowing one run on three hits with a walk against Frisco. It was Puk’s first appearance for Midland after three outings with Class A Stockton . ... Jesus Luzardo (shoulder strain) got the win Thursday in TripleA Las Vegas’ 163 rout at Fresno. The lefthander started and pitched five innings, giving up two runs on four hits. He struck out four and did not walk anyone in his second TripleA appearance after pitching twice for Stockton.