GARY, IN. 6-9-2010 — Gary SouthShore RailCats right-hander Brandon Magee led the ‘Cats to a 4-2 homestand with a pair of impressive victories, and for that the former Toronto Blue Jays prospect has been named the Northern League’s Pitcher of the Week for the week ending June 6, it was announced today.

The 26-year-old right-hander lowered his ERA nearly three full points during a week in which he allowed only one earned run in 11.2 combined innings.  In the first game of a Tuesday doubleheader, Magee got the RailCats started on a sweep of the Winnipeg Goldeyes with six three-hit innings in a 3-2 win.  Sunday, Magee followed that with 5.2 shutout frames in the RailCats 2-0 win over Lake County, striking out a season-high eight in that victory.  The Wisconsin native also displayed a little grit in his starts, working both before and after a rain delay in each game without missing a beat.

Part of an electric RailCats pitching staff that boasts seven hurlers with an ERA as low or lower than Magee’s 3.57 mark, Magee ranks second on the ‘Cats with 16 strikeouts and his two victories are tied for team-high honors.  After giving up 13 hits over 11.0 innings in his first two starts of the year, Winnipeg and Lake County combined for only nine hits in 11.2 innings off Magee last week.

Magee is the first RailCat to win one of the Northern League’s weekly honors during the 2010 season.  Kansas City T-Bones slugger Jim Fasano was also recognized as the circuit’s Player of the Week on Wednesday.  The RailCats had three Northern League Pitchers of the Week in 2009 – Tony Cogan (twice) and Andy Shipman – and Magee is the 16^th RailCats Pitcher of the Week honoree since the arrival of Manager Greg Tagert in 2005.

Magee and the RailCats (8-9) begin a two-day, two-site, three-game series against the Rockford RiverHawks (7-9) with a doubleheader tonight at Road Ranger Stadium, beginning at 6:05 p.m.  Brad Halsey (1-1, 0.57 ERA) and Zach McClellan (0-2, 5.11 ERA) will start for the RailCats opposite Kyle Ruwe (0-2, 4.87 ERA) and Roger Lincoln (1-1, 3.54 ERA).  The games will be broadcast live on 89.1 FM, The Lakeshore, and on the web at www.railcatsbaseball.com.

The ‘Cats return home Thursday night at 7 p.m. to close out the series against Rockford and the first 1,000 fans will get an envelope filled with cash as they walk in the gates!  Each of the first 1,000 fans is a winner, with the envelopes containing up to $100.  Thursday’s Money Giveaway is sponsored by NIEMI Associates, and tickets are on sale now by calling 219.822.2255, stopping by the U. S. Steel Yard Box Office or visiting www.railcatsbaseball.com.