Young's grand slam pushes Pirates past Marlins

The moon was full Tuesday night. The planets probably were aligned, too, considering what unlikely event unfolded at Pro Player Stadium.

Getting a grand slam from a player who hadn't gone deep since April, the Pirates beat a pitcher who hadn't lost since last June.

The Pirates also survived an inside-the-park home run in the ninth inning to beat the Florida Marlins, 5-2, and end their five-game losing streak.

Kevin Young's slam in the sixth inning backed the superb pitching of Jason Schmidt and helped the Pirates beat Marlins starter Brad Penny, whose last loss was June 28, 2000.

Not only hadn't Penny (4-1) lost in his previous 17 starts, he entered the game with a 1.15 ERA at home that was the lowest in the majors.

'Any win is surely needed for us,' said Pirates manager Lloyd McClendon, whose last win came against the Marlins eight days ago. 'But I certainly don't think we're as bad as our record indicates.'

Young's homer aside, McClendon said the key to the victory was Schmidt (2-2), who allowed three hits and a run in seven innings before exiting with blisters on his index and middle fingers. Schmidt, who threw only 82 pitches, won for the first time since May 11 when he returned to the rotation following right shoulder surgery.

'I thought he was going on all cylinders,' McClendon said. 'It's unfortunate he developed the blisters because he could have gone the distance.'

The Marlins made things interesting after Schmidt departed. Josias Manzanillo needed a pair of disputed called third strikes to pitch out of a two-on, one-out jam in the eighth.

Cliff Floyd opened the ninth with a line drive to center that got past a diving Emil Brown. The ball rolled to the wall, enabling Floyd to record the first inside-the-park homer at Pro Player Stadium since May 29, 1997.

Manzanillo walked Charles Johnson with two outs before Mike Williams got the final out for his 10th save.

'We need a lot of lifts like this,' said Young, who provided one with his first homer since April 25, snapping a drought of 98 at-bats. 'What shouldn't go overlooked is Jason Schmidt's performance. That is the key to turning this around - our pitching. If you have to rely on a grand slam to win every game, you've got problems.'

Schmidt said it was easier to get his arm loose in the humid 84-degree conditions. Still, he didn't crack 90 mph until the third inning but retired 10 of the first 11 batters he faced. He didn't give up a hit until the fourth when Floyd doubled into the left-field corner.

Preston Wilson followed with a run-scoring single to center and took second on the throw.

Schmidt received a boost when Wilson tried to steal third. Catcher Jason Kendall, who has the lowest caught-stealing percentage in the league, threw Wilson out. It was just the fifth time in 27 attempts that Kendall nabbed a runner.

Schmidt retired the next nine batters in succession before allowing a two-out double in the seventh.

'He started out throwing 87 in the first two innings, then all of a sudden he gets it going and is throwing 94,' Floyd said. 'I'm thinking, 'What happened, did he get a tune-up?''

The humidity may have contributed to Schmidt's blister. He willingly left the game after the seventh.

'I'd like to think I've gotten smarter,' he said. 'In the past, I would have tried to be the tough guy and stay out there until the skin was ripped off my fingers.'

For five innings, Penny held the Pirates to two hits - singles by John Vander Wal in the fourth and Brown in the fifth.

But Penny unraveled in the sixth, loading the bases after hitting Kendall and walking Brian Giles and John Vander Wal. The walk to Vander Wal came after Penny was ahead 1-2 in the count.

Young then launched his missile in the direction of Alligator Alley for a 4-1 lead. It was Young's third career grand slam and first since Aug. 31, 1999.

'I was glad to see him bust out,' Schmidt said. 'That's what we really needed was a big hit.'

Young entered the game with a .134 road batting average, but he said he didn't feel the pressure to perform.

'When you're in the heat of the battle, you don't focus on stuff like that,' he said. 'If you start thinking about it, you're not doing your job and you're filling your head with negative stuff.'

Young has eight hits in his past 21 at-bats. That could be a sign that he's ready to break out.

'It's good to see guys with track records come around,' McClendon said. 'I've said all along that you have to trust guys with track records.'