Markakis powers Hitmen to tie series

Well things certainly got interesting in a hurry in the Las Vegas-Hillsborough series as the Hitmen knotted the series at one with a 4-3 victory yesterday. Ironically, Vegas was the poster child for one-run victories during the regular season, but may have used all their mojo before the playoffs. The Rats jumped out to an early lead when Frank Thomas and Carlos Pena hit solo homers in the second inning. But the Hitmen played copy cats in the third and tied it up with a pair of solo shots of their own - Nick Markakis and Dmitri Young. The score remained tied until the 7th when Markakis hit his second homer of the day - a two-run blast that gave the Hitmen a 4-2 lead. Vlad Guerrero answered with a solo homer in the bottom of the inning, but the Rats were still one short. Takashi Saito was brought into the game and promptly struck out 3 of the final 5 batters to earn the save. The series will resume Thursday in Hillsborough.

The Trade Mill keeps churning

This morning a huge deal was completed between the Arkansas Golden Falcons and the Hillsborough Hired Hitmen. The Falcons sent starter Dan Haren and young outfielder Nick Markakis plus four draft picks (spread out through 2010) to the Hitmen in exchange for sluggers Alex Rodriguez and Adam Dunn, young starters Ian Snell and Jeremy Bonderman and reliever Jonathan Broxton. The move solidifies the Falcons lineup, and makes them once again competitive for the 2008 season. A-Rod will likely fill the DH slot in the Falcons lineup with incumbent David Wright expected to man third base. The Hitmen meanwhile complete their young rotation with Haren, who will likely fill the number two or three spot.

Are there more deals to come? Stay tuned!