Romak puts hurt on Z's pitching again

Jamie Romak went 4-for-5 with a home run and four RBI, leading the Memphis Redbirds past the New Orleans Zephyrs, 8-2 on Tuesday night.

Romak led off the second inning with a single and later scored as the Redbirds grabbed a 2-0 lead, then singled again in the third. His RBI single with one out in the fifth put the Redbirds on top 3-2, and he belted a three-run homer in the ninth to help Memphis put the game out of reach.

Romak is now batting .359 with six home runs and 17 RBI in 12 games against the Zephyrs this season.

After the Redbirds took advantage of two errors in the top of the second to take a two-run lead, Kyle Jensen responded with a two-run shot in the bottom of the inning to even the score. It was Jensen's second home run in as many nights, his 11th as a Zephyr and his 27th of the year overall including Double-A.

Memphis loaded the bases with one out in the fifth, and Romak drilled a single through the hole at short to score the go-ahead run, but Jensen threw out Justin Christian at the plate to keep the deficit at one run.

Two innings later, Jensen doubled Ryan Jackson off first base for an inning-ending double play following a diving catch on a fly ball. The Zephyrs' left fielder added a single and a double at the plate for his fourth game with at least three hits this season.

The Z's still trailed 3-2 entering the ninth when the Redbirds scored five times off Steve Ames. Christian delivered an RBI single, and Romak and Chad Huffman hit back-to-back homers as the Redbirds inched to within a game of first-place Omaha in the American Northern Division.

Boone Whiting (5-5) allowed two runs and five hits in six innings and struck out nine to earn the win. Brian Flynn (6-11) was charged with three runs - one earned - and nine hits in six innings and suffered the loss.

The Zephyrs and Redbirds play the third game of the series on Wednesday at 7 p.m.