As this site's Voros McCracken has said, home runs are one of only three things that a pitcher can control. If a pitcher is going to give up homeruns, he needs to make up for it by not walking people and by striking folks out. In Roberts' 6 below-average seasons, he gave up more than the league average in homers in every single one. I grant that Robin Roberts isn't exactly an appropriate comparison, but the general point is to look at the pitcher's whole game. And there was surely a lot more about Tomko to earn a demotion than just his seeming generosity with gopher balls.
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