Tommy Romero’s second start at Bowling Green Ballpark went much better than the first, although the result was the same for the Bowling Green Hot Rods.

Romero allowed two runs over six innings and Renaldo Hernandez provided the offense with a pair of homers as Bowling Green slid past West Michigan 7-2 on Saturday.

The right-hander, acquired in the deal that sent Denard Span and Alex Colome to Seattle on May 25, picked up his first win with the Hot Rods after making his debut May 28.

“It’s kind of bittersweet,” Romero said. “I miss the guys over there with (the Seattle organization), but it’s a great group of guys over here and they love to play.

“It’s fun to pitch when everyone behind you are making plays and scoring runs. It makes everything easier when I go out there and pitch.”

Saturday was his Hot Rods debut at Bowling Green Ballpark, but it wasn’t his first start here this season. Romero’s worst start of the year – with Clinton (Iowa) – came against the Hot Rods on May 2, when he allowed four earned runs and seven hits in two innings.

One month later, it was a different story.

West Michigan got a run off Romero in the second, but Hernadez answered with his fifth homer of the season to tie the score at 1 in the bottom of the second. The Hot Rods took the lead with two runs in the third and extended the lead to 5-1 on a two-run homer from Vidal Brujan in the fifth.

Romero cruised through the middle innings, retiring eight in a row until a solo homer by Jordan Pearce in the sixth. He ended his night allowing three hits with seven strikeouts and three walks.

Bowling Green put the game away with Hernandez’s second homer of the night and sixth of the season – his third in the last two games – to make the score 7-2.

“Tommy Romero has been outstanding all year,” BG manager Craig Albernaz said. “Even with Clinton he was one of the best pitchers in the league, numbers-wise. To get him over in the trade, he fits right in perfectly in the clubhouse. He’s a great kid, works hard … and he fits right in.”

Hernandez and Brujan finished with three hits each, while Adrian Rondon added two hits.

Hunter Schryver tossed two scoreless innings to earn his fifth save of the season.

“The guys are swinging the bats well right now,” Albernaz said. “You can’t bank on having three home runs a game every game … but it was a good game.”

TAKING THE SERIES

With the first two wins in the series, the Hot Rods improved to 11-0-2 over the last 13 series. The last series loss came at West Michigan on April 18-19.

PLAYOFF PICTURE

The Dayton (Ohio) Dragons’ win over the Lansing (Mich.) Lugnuts moved the Hot Rods into a tie with the Lugnuts for the Midwest Eastern Division lead with 15 games left. The Lugnuts start a three-game series in Bowling Green beginning Tuesday.

The Hot Rods are seven games clear of a playoff spot, with the top two teams in the division in the first half clinching a postseason spot.

UP NEXT

The series concludes at 2:05 p.m. Sunday.

Right-hander Tobias Myers (5-3, 5.49) is scheduled to start for the Hot Rods. Myers is 4-1 in his last five appearances and has a 3.97 ERA at Bowling Green Ballpark, but an 8.03 ERA in day games. He has yet to face West Michigan this season.

Right-hander Matt Manning (1-2, 3.82) is scheduled to start for West Michigan. Manning allowed nine runs over 23 innings in five May starts, going 1-2. He has yet to face the Hot Rods this season.{&end}