Jason Bergmann never got a chance to plead his case to stay in the game after seven shutout innings.

No matter. The pinch hitter who replaced him made Bergmann a winner.

Willie Harris helped put Washington ahead with a key sacrifice bunt, then saved the slick-fielding Nationals by making a sensational catch in the ninth inning of yesterday’s 1-0 victory over the Mets.

“Willie proved to be the deciding factor in this game, didn’t he?” said Bergmann, who was called up from Triple-A Columbus before the game and earned his first victory since September.

The Mets got another chance to tie the score after Harris’s grab, putting a runner on third with one out. Instead, they had a potential rally end on an unusual double play for the second consecutive inning.

Washington took three of four in the series by winning an unlikely pitching duel between Bergmann and Mike Pelfrey. The Mets finished a sour 3-4 on their seven-game homestead against last-place teams.

All-Star closer Billy Wagner, who criticized his teammates earlier this season, snapped to reporters after the game, “You should be talking to the guys over there.

“Oh, they’re not there. Big shock.”

Pelfrey carried a no-hit bid into the seventh before Aaron Boone broke it up with a leadoff single. Starting at first base in place of injured Nick Johnson, Boone also had two crucial assists on those late double plays.

“We’re blessed to have him over here,” manager Manny Acta said. “He’s such a professional player.”

Carlos Beltran singled leading off the ninth against Jon Rauch, who earned his ninth save. Ryan Church then hit a high fly down the left-field line that sliced away from the speedy Harris, who was shading Church toward left-center.

“I got a good read on it,” Harris said. “I had no idea that I was going to catch it. I just ran after it as if I was going to catch it. … The ball stayed up in the air long enough.”

Harris laid out for a diving catch to thwart the Mets yet again. With the Braves last August, he made a leaping catch to rob Carlos Delgado of a potential tying home run in the ninth inning of a 7-6 Atlanta victory.

***

RAYS 5, YANKEES 2, Scott Kazmir sparkled in his first start since agreeing to a $28.5 million contract extension, and the surprising Tampa Bay Rays dropped the Yankees into last place with a 5-2 victory Thursday.

Kazmir (2-1) allowed three singles in six scoreless innings, and Akinori Iwamura and Shawn Riggans homered off Ian Kennedy for the AL East-leading Rays.

Tampa Bay (24-17), which started play in 1998, has been alone atop the division standings for three consecutive days for the first time. The Rays won three of four from New York and have captured six of seven series in building the best record in the AL.

The Yankees have lost six of nine and got another a poor pitching performance from Kennedy (0-3), who was recalled from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes Barre for his sixth start of the season.

New York (20-22), struggling with Alex Rodriguez and Jorge Posada on the disabled list, was shut out until seventh-inning RBI singles by Derek Jeter and Melky Cabrera off Gary Glover. The struggling Yankees scored six runs in the series, only two off Rays starters.

Kazmir, a 24-year-old left-hander agreed Wednesday to a three-year extension through 2011, a deal with a club option that could raise the contract’s value to $39.5 million over four seasons. He walked three and struck out three in his third start since spending April on the disabled list with a left elbow strain.