LOS ANGELES -- It might not be correct to say that Juan Uribe was nearing the end of the line with the Dodgers this season, but he was awfully close.
Last summer, he lost his starting job at third base. This season, he was essentially a bench player and occasional starter.
But through all of his tribulations, Uribe was still beloved in the clubhouse. He kept a positive attitude. He laughed. He encouraged his teammates.
"He's a great teammate," shortstop Hanley Ramirez said Monday night. "Everybody loves him. He's one of the best teammates I've ever had."
Uribe is delivering, too. He hit a career-best three home runs and drove in four in the Dodgers' 8-1 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks, ending a four-game losing streak and cutting their magic number to eight.
After losing four of six on the road and scoring just seven runs in three defeats at Cincinnati, the Dodgers exploded for six homers, including one each by Ramirez, Andre Ethier and Adrian Gonzalez. Uribe, who hit two home runs all of last season, had a shot at tying the major league record of four homers in a game, but he settled for an infield single in the seventh.
"I don't think about that," he said of missing a shot at the record. "I never think about a homer. I want to get a good swing. If they come, I feel happy."
There was happiness all around. Uribe, 34, is among the most popular players in the Dodgers clubhouse, but he played in just 66 games last season after losing his starting job to Luis Cruz.
This season, Uribe was hitting just .220 as late as May 8, but Cruz was worse: an .089 average at the end of April and .167 at the end of May. Third base was a black hole for the Dodgers.
By default, Uribe won his job back. He's been steady if unspectacular, hitting .292 in August, .279 overall and playing spectacular defense at third.
"The one thing about Juan, he always, always, always, in the three years he's been here, has been a good defender," manager Don Mattingly said. "He's always played third base and been quality there.
"The thing that opened our eyes was how good of a teammate he was last year. Luis was here, kind of tearing it up, and was the darling of L.A. for a period of time. But Juan was a really good teammate. He gained a lot of respect in that clubhouse for his treatment of Luis."
Without question, his playful banter with his teammates -- both in the clubhouse and in the dugout -- is worth watching. Uribe and Ramirez performed a brief dance at the top of the dugout step after each of his home runs, and right fielder Yasiel Puig fed him a bite of a banana.
Why a banana?
"They call me a monkey," Uribe said. "I don't know why. It's OK. It’s good. I want to make my team happy, and I want to be a good teammate."
It's in good fun, and after their misstep in Cincinnati, the Dodgers needed it. But looking at magic numbers isn't something they're prepared to do just now.
"I don't think it's time for that yet," Mattingly said. "It's time to keep turning the page, don’t take anything for granted, keep getting ready to play and hopefully we can get to that point where we can sew things up and start making some plans."
That time is coming.
