OAKLAND -- Trevor Plouffe is healthy again, and his bat appears to be back at full strength, too.
The veteran third baseman, inked by the A's to a one-year deal this offseason, collected his 100th career home run in Oakland's 3-1 victory over the Mariners on Friday night. It also happened to be the fourth in his last seven games, a game-tying solo shot off Hisashi Iwakuma in the fifth.
"It's a cool personal achievement," Plouffe said. "I don't really take a lot of stock in personal stats, but 100 is cool. It was nice that it helped us in the game, got us back in the game. I think my parents like it a lot more."
It's no coincidence the uptick in production -- Plouffe has eight hits in his last eight games, after totaling just four in his first seven -- has coincided with Oakland's four-game winning streak.
"This is a true power guy," A's manager Bob Melvin said. "He had some injuries last year. His numbers were a little bit down last year because of injury, but when he gets on a roll, and here he's not swinging particularly well to start the season, yet he's still hitting homers, and big homers. He'll find a streak where he gets really hot, too. He's the type of guy that can carry a team, so he was a big pickup for us."

Plouffe was limited to 84 games with the Twins in an injury-ravaged 2016 season that included three trips to the disabled list for an intercostal strain, a fractured rib and an oblique strain. He finished with 12 home runs, batting .260 before Minnesota opted to part ways with him.
The A's then took a flyer on the infielder, who is starting to make good on their agreement.
"That was a major part of my offseason was making sure that I corrected a lot of things that plagued me last year," Plouffe said. "The main reason I missed a lot of time last year was I got hit with a pitch. You can't control that, but I also had some oblique issues. Wasn't maybe flexible enough for where I needed to be, so I made a point of that this offseason and I feel pretty good."
Plouffe's average remains low, at .222, and he's already racked up 22 strikeouts in 54 at-bats, but he insists his swing is "getting better."
"It's definitely not where I want it to be," he said. "I'm still swinging and missing too much. I've been able to put some good swings on the ball. I think I'm happy I've stuck with it. I'm not packing it in and calling it a day. I'm continuing to battle every at-bat.
"When you're struggling, it can be easy to give away at-bats. I always preach not to give away at-bats to the younger guys. If you don't practice what you preach, no one's going to believe what you say. Been trying to do that. I think it's coming. The more and more I see these guys in this division I think I'll start to feel a little more comfortable."