ATLANTA -- As the Pirates evaluate their young players over the final month of the season, there will be moments of growth -- and growing pains along with them. They saw both in a 5-1 loss to the Braves on Sunday night at SunTrust Park.
There was growth from right-hander Nick Kingham, who moved out of the bullpen and delivered a solid spot start against the National League East-leading Braves. And there were growing pains for rookie infielder Kevin Newman, who made a critical error that sparked Atlanta's winning rally in the eighth inning.
After working two scoreless innings, left-hander Steven Brault returned to pitch the eighth. Ronald Acuna Jr. hit a leadoff single to center and took second on Ender Inciarte's sacrifice bunt. Freddie Freeman then hit a routine grounder at Newman, who was playing second base in only his eighth big league start. The ball bounced between Newman's legs and into right field, allowing Acuna to score.

"The game up here is fast sometimes, and we've got to help him find a way to slow it down and continue to play," manager Clint Hurdle said of Newman. "You've got to separate your at-bats and your glove. He's trying to do that. Plays like that hurt, though. We've got to pick him back up and get him ready to play tomorrow."
The Braves loaded the bases with a walk and an infield single, and Ozzie Albies padded their lead with a bloop single to right. Atlanta scored two more runs on a wild pitch by reliever Dovydas Neverauskas and a Dansby Swanson single.
The Pirates' lack of hitting and late meltdown put a damper on an encouraging performance by Kingham, who joined the rotation while Ivan Nova attends to a personal matter. The rookie right-hander commanded his fastball to both sides of the plate and neutralized the Braves' lefty bats with his changeup and slider.

Kingham gave up a game-tying solo shot to Acuna on his second pitch of the game, but he recovered to retire 15 of the final 18 batters he faced while striking out four over five innings.
"It was good. I'm happy with how things came out," Kingham said. "Kind of settled in a little bit after the first batter, got in a rhythm, got in a roll … and went as deep as I could into the game."
Kingham made a nearly perfect Major League debut (seven one-hit innings) but posted a 5.02 ERA in 12 starts for the Pirates. Sunday's start accurately reflected the rookie's baffling, yearlong struggles in the first inning: Of the 40 runs he's allowed as a starter this season, 18 have come in the first inning.

This is an important evaluation period for Kingham and the Pirates. He will be out of Minor League options next season, so he will either have to find a place on Pittsburgh's 2019 roster or be run through waivers and possibly lost to another organization.
Kingham may get another spot start this month, but the Bucs don't want to disrupt their current group with so many off-days already on the schedule. All five starters are set to return next season, as is the injured Chad Kuhl, and top prospect Mitch Keller should begin the season in Triple-A. There's not much room in the rotation.

The Bucs broke camp this year with two converted starters working in relief, Tyler Glasnow and Brault, and they could do the same next season as well. For now, Kingham is content to do whatever the Pirates ask of him.
"If [pitching out of the bullpen is] what they need me to do, I'm more than happy to do it," Kingham said. "Just to be a part of the team and contribute as best I can, any way I can, I'm here for it."
SOUND SMART
The Pirates have scored only 46 runs since Aug. 12, the fewest in baseball, and they are 5-14 during that stretch. Acuna has personally out-homered Pittsburgh, 10-8, since Aug. 11.
YOU GOTTA SEE THIS
Shortstop Jordy Mercer made perhaps his best play of the season to prevent a run in the fifth inning. With a runner on second and two outs, the speedy Acuna hit a hard grounder up the middle. Mercer dove to his left to stop the ball from skipping into center for an RBI single, popped up and made an excellent throw that first baseman Josh Bell scooped to record the third out of the inning.
"It was a dynamite play," Hurdle said. "You lay out, it's a play you're looking for your shortstop to be able to make to put an inning away like that. Yeah, it could have been a direction-changer."

HE SAID IT
"This is September baseball. This is where the pushes are made. This is my first time playing in September, so I feel like I'm just thrown into the fire -- which I love. This is real baseball right here. This is what counts. People are going for division titles, for playoff pushes. It's what it's all about." -- Kingham, on the final month of the season
MITEL REPLAY OF THE DAY
Braves catcher Tyler Flowers led off the fifth inning with a grounder to third baseman Colin Moran and was initially ruled safe at first. But the Pirates challenged the call, and the replay official overturned the ruling on the field. The extra baserunner certainly could have benefited the Braves when the next batter, Swanson, hit a single to center. Instead, the replay -- and Mercer's play -- helped the Pirates escape unscathed.

UP NEXT
The Pirates will have a quick turnaround as they return to PNC Park at 1:35 p.m. ET on Monday for a Labor Day matinee against the Reds. Right-hander Trevor Williams, who owns a 0.75 ERA since July 11, is set to face Cincinnati righty Matt Harvey. Pittsburgh will play 19 of its final 25 games against National League Central competition.