SAN DIEGO Hyzdu sparks Pirates to eighth road victory

Pittsburgh has the third-best road mark in the major leagues.
SAN DIEGO (AP) -- The Pittsburgh Pirates are in no hurry to go home.
With Adam Hyzdu hitting a grand slam and making two outstanding catches in the outfield, the Pirates beat San Diego 8-5 on Wednesday night to improve to 8-3 in the road.
"This may very well be the most important road trip of the season after the way we played at home," pitcher Kris Benson said. "It was another great game for us."
Pittsburgh, 4-11 at home, has the third best road record in the majors behind the New York Yankees (13-3) and San Francisco (11-4).
Went 3-9 at home
The Pirates began a 10-game road trip with a 7-2 victory Tuesday, after losing nine of 12 games on their worst home stand in nearly 10 years.
"We just made an effort to put all that behind us," Pirates manager Lloyd McClendon said. "We are just playing more relaxed and with a lot of effort."
Hyzdu, recalled from Triple-A Nashville on April 12, gave the Pirates a 7-0 lead with a grand slam in the third that capped a five-run inning. He also made two outstanding catches in center field that cost the Padres two hits and at least one run.
But Hyzdu enjoyed the grand slam more.
"A grand slam is the pinnacle of this sport," he said. "It's got its own name. It's not a home run, it's not a single. Grand is like a big word and slam means you smacked it. The combination of grand and slam means it special."
First homer
Hyzdu's home run, his first of the season, was the third grand slam of his 18 career home runs.
With a runner on first in the fourth inning, Hyzdu made a long run to snare Sean Burroughs' fly ball, crashing into the center-field fence. Hyzdu then made a diving catch on a blooper by Xavier Nady in shallow center.
Benson (3-3) gave up four runs and eight hits in six innings to snap his three-game losing streak. The big blow off Benson was Ryan Klesko's three-run homer that cut it to 7-3 in the third.
Mike Williams pitched the ninth for his sixth save.
Oliver Perez (1-3) allowed seven runs and seven hits in three innings. The 21-year-old Perez walked four, threw one wild pitch and hit a batter.
"There's a lot of concern, to be honest," Padres manager Bruce Bochy said. "He's had one good start and tonight he took a step backward and was really all over the map throwing the ball."
Jack Wilson, who keyed a three-run first inning Tuesday night, gave the Pirates a 1-0 lead with a homer off Perez.
After adding a run in the second, Pittsburgh broke it open in the third inning. Jason Kendall led off with a double. Aramis Ramirez was hit by a pitch and Reggie Sanders drove in a run with single. After a strikeout, Perez walked Craig Wilson before Hyzdu hit his slam on a first-pitch fastball.
Xavier Nady drove in run for San Diego with a single in the sixth that sliced Pittsburgh's lead to 7-4 and pinch-hitter Wiki Gonzalez added a sacrifice fly in the eighth.
Craig Wilson drove in a run with a sacrifice fly in the ninth.