Glove work seals shutout win

NEW YORK — There was a standout pitching performance from Jason Bergmann in his return from the minor leagues. There was another big hit from Jesus Flores, leading to the only run.

When the Washington Nationals reflect on yesterday’s 1-0 victory over the New York Mets, though, they’ll remember above all else the defense that made everything else possible, from Cristian Guzman catching Aaron Boone’s eighth-inning throw on the run to nail Jose Reyes at third base to Willie Harris’ highlight-reel catch in left field in the ninth to the double play that ended the game.

“That’s how you’ve got to win sometimes,” Boone said. “That’s a good ballgame right there.”

This close affair had it all. New York’s Mike Pelfrey carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning before Boone lined a single to right. Bergmann matched his counterpart with seven scoreless innings in his first big league outing since April 12.

And then came the frenetic finish, with the Nationals breaking the deadlock in the eighth on Flores’ leadoff double, Harris’ sacrifice bunt and Felipe Lopez’s sacrifice fly, and Washington’s bullpen hanging on to close out the club’s third win in four days against the Mets.

“I’m very proud of these guys,” manager Manny Acta said. “If you look at our batting average and the way we’ve been swinging the bat, you might not think we’d be in a lot of ballgames. But they don’t give up. They play hard, and good things happen.”

Yesterday’s game was particularly good for Bergmann, whom the club banished to Class AAA Columbus a month ago with an 11.68 ERA. General manager Jim Bowden told him there was no guarantee he would return. The 26-year-old right-hander, though, forced the Nationals to recall him with three consecutive strong starts and 14 consecutive scoreless innings for the Clippers.

“I had full confidence in my abilities that I could pitch,” said Bergmann, who went 6-6 with a 4.45 ERA in 21 starts last season. “I don’t think last year was a fluke. … With Jim, he loves that motivation. He loves getting at you every which way. After thinking about it, I’m hoping that the words he said were meant to motivate me and not to discourage me.”

Bergmann (1-1) scattered three singles over his seven innings and took advantage of some sharp-breaking sliders and curveballs to strike out nine Mets.

“It’s something to work off of,” he said. “If I can keep doing this instead of the old way, this will be a lot more effective.”

Still, Bergmann wasn’t in position to earn the win when he departed after the seventh because through the sixth, Pelfrey made a bid for the first no-hitter in the Mets’ 47 seasons. Boone dashed those hopes with his leadoff single in the seventh, and the Nationals scored off Pelfrey (2-4) in the eighth on Flores’ double and the two sacrifices.

But securing the victory required three big defensive plays over the final two innings, beginning with a nifty move to nail Reyes trying to advance from first to third on Luis Castillo’s sacrifice bunt.

Philadelphia’s Jimmy Rollins burned Washington on an identical play April 3, when he raced around the bases and caught the Nationals’ defense sleeping. Not this time. As soon as Ryan Zimmerman came charging in to field Castillo’s bunt, Guzman knew he had to get to third base before Reyes.

“This isn’t going to happen again,” Guzman said.

Still, it took a pinpoint throw from Boone, who had to lead Guzman to the bag.

“Guzy did a great job of staying ahead of him,” Boone said. “He flashed me his glove, and when he did that I just said, ’OK, I just need to complete it.’ ”

However, that play paled in comparison with Harris’ diving catch of Ryan Church’s fly ball down the left-field line in the ninth. Shading Church well around to the right side, Harris ran roughly 90 feet before leaping to make the grab.

“I had no idea that I was going to catch it,” Harris said. “But I just ran after it as though I was going to catch it and have an opportunity to catch it. The ball stayed up in the air long enough that I was able to make a play.”

To top things off, Boone snagged Carlos Delgado’s one-out line drive and fired to third to double up Carlos Beltran, the final sterling defensive play by the Nationals on a day filled with gems.