Lineup has ‘different look’ to it

Saying he wanted to give his wilting offense “a little different look,” Manager Grady Little on Monday shook up the Dodgers’ batting order.

The impetus?

“Four runs in three days,” Little said, referring to a Freeway Series sweep in which the Angels outscored the Dodgers, 19-4, over the weekend at Angel Stadium.

Little flip-flopped streaking leadoff hitter Rafael Furcal and No. 2 hitter Juan Pierre before the Dodgers’ game against Milwaukee at Dodger Stadium, moving Pierre atop the order for only the second time since Furcal returned from the disabled list April 13. He also switched No. 5 hitter Luis Gonzalez and No. 6 hitter Russell Martin, putting Martin into the fifth spot for only the third time this season. Andy LaRoche hit in the seventh spot for the first time this season and Andre Ethier batted eighth for the sixth time.

The changes sparked surprise among some in the clubhouse.

“It came out of nowhere for me,” said Pierre, who last hit leadoff May 10 against Florida. “But it’s something I’ve done before, so I’m not like, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m leading off.’ It’s whatever to help the team win.”

Furcal, who put together three consecutive four-hit games last week and had 19 hits in his last 32 at-bats in the leadoff position, said the adjustments were necessary.

“He’s trying to look for some changes in the lineup and some moving around for it to be better for the team,” Furcal said of Little. “I think he needed to change something so we can play better.”

Pierre, a leadoff hitter for most of his seven-plus major league seasons, said going back to that spot would not require a different approach.

“It’s just like riding a bike for me, because even when I got the one leadoff start in Florida, it was like I had been there all year,” he said. “It’s the mentality of I’ve just done it for so long.”

Little had talked about juggling his lineup for more than a week but put off changes in the wake of a recent homestand in which the Dodgers averaged 6.2 runs. After that average dipped to 1.3 against the Angels, Little decided to make a move that he said would remain in effect for more than one game.

“I don’t know how long it will last,” said Little, whose team ranked sixth in the National League in batting (.262), eighth in runs (192) and 14th in home runs (23) before Monday. “It might last the rest of the season.”

Little said the changes did not result from any particular player’s lack of production, but were “for the sole purpose of giving the entire lineup a different look.”

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Dodgers Vice Chairman and President Jamie McCourt will be honored today in New York by Women’s eNews as one of 21 leaders for the 21st century for her efforts to increase the number of female executives in baseball and educate women about the game through the team’s Women’s Initiative Network.

The highest-ranking female executive in the major leagues, McCourt was selected from a reader-nominated list of individuals who work to improve and empower the lives of women.

ben.bolch@latimes.com