On the spoiler/pitch question:
MD-10/11 spoilers (as in many other jets) are located to the rear on the wing, at the leading edge of the flaps, and to the rear of the 1/4-chord point that is roughly where the lift is centered for any segment of the wing.
A partially-raised spoiler at a low angle will tend to act like the elevator on a tail plane (or an elevon on a flying wing), converting the force of rearward airflow into a downward force behind the lift center.
A pretty small force compared to the other aerodynamic surfaces, and one that would become smaller as the spoiler is further deployed, becoming a wall blocking the airflow rather than a ramp deflecting its force.
However - IF - as some familiar with the MD-11 seem to believe, the MD-11 wing itself is a "bit too far back" relative to CG or gear location, then the "elevon" effect of partially-deployed spoilers might be more pronounced in that craft as well.
If the general experience of MD-11 drivers is that initial spoiler deployment tends to induce nose-up pitch, then that's their experience. I'm just noting a mechanism that seems consistent.