LOS ANGELES — Braden Looper bounced back sharply after two miserable outings, Prince Fielder had a tying RBI groundout a night after trying to enter the Dodgers’ clubhouse to confront Guillermo Mota, and the Milwaukee Brewers beat Los Angeles 4-1 on Wednesday night to win their first series in over a month.
Looper (10-5) allowed a run and four hits over 6 2/3 innings and struck out four after giving up a leadoff homer in the first to Rafael Furcal. In Looper’s previous two starts, the right-hander gave up 11 runs and 17 hits over 11 innings. He had a 7-1 lead last Friday at San Diego but ended up with a no-decision.
Fielder, who was booed lustily by the crowd of 50,276 each time he came to bat, was 0-for-5.
While Fielder took batting practice at Dodger Stadium before the game, no fewer than nine stern-faced members of the ballpark’s security staff maintained a vigilant presence outside the Brewers’ clubhouse.
They were on heightened alert to prevent any recurrence of what took place Tuesday night, when the burly slugger stormed across the hall after the Brewers’ 17-4 loss and attempted to force his way into the Dodgers’ locker room to confront Mota.
Mota hit Fielder with a fastball with two out in the ninth inning, presumably as payback for Chris Smith grazing Manny Ramirez with a pitch two innings earlier.
“I think Prince’s actions certainly were inappropriate and regrettable, and they will be dealt with appropriately by Major League Baseball,” Brewers manager Ken Macha said.
As was the case Tuesday night, Fielder — who played with Mota in Milwaukee last season — didn’t offer any insight as to why he reacted so violently.
“I don’t remember that. I’m just trying to play baseball and win (Wednesday’s) game,” the all-star first baseman said. “I think he was just trying to come inside and it got away from him. He was trying to hit his spot. I wish he hit his spot, but it just missed.
“All that other stuff is out of my control. . . . He’s not on my team now, so we’re not teammates. . . . I’m not too worried about (bad) blood.”
Ballpark security was taking no chances. Usually, there’s only one guard outside each clubhouse before games. On the extra presence, Fielder said: “This is L.A. You want to be safe.”
Macha insisted reporting of the incident was overblown.
“What I watched on television, I think it’s totally misrepresented — some of the terminology they used. They used words that made it sound like he was somebody was going to kill somebody,” Macha said. “You’re focused on the wrong thing. If their pitcher doesn’t intentionally hit him, none of this happens.”
