WASHINGTON — The start wasn’t great: Four runs allowed in the first inning. And the final line wasn’t much better: Five innings, five runs allowed on seven hits with one walk and five strikeouts.

Still, John Smoltz came away from Thursday night’s game — a 9-3 Nationals victory over the Red Sox — with a smile on his face.

“This is bigger than one start,” said the veteran right-hander, who was making his first start for Boston and his first start since undergoing shoulder surgery last year. “I can’t be disappointed.”

It was a rough first inning where the Nats scored four runs on four hits as Smoltz hit a batter and was clearly off his rhythm. After that he settled in and finished his outing by striking out the side in order in the fifth.

He said he felt like he could go another inning despite already throwing 92 pitches. In fact, he asked manager Terry Francona if he could go back out, but the situation wasn’t right for him to push himself in his first start.

Smoltz wasn’t focusing on the final line. He reviewed his outing pitch-by-pitch and liked what he saw.

“Most times if the line score is the way it is, then I’m going to be very disappointed,” said Smoltz. “But I really can’t at this point. Although I would like a mulligan in the first inning, it happened, and now everything will be normal for me.”

Smoltz reached 93 MPH on the radar with his fastball. His slider was sliding and his splitter was splitting. His curveball was falling off the table.

The Red Sox were smiling just as widely as Smoltz.

“I know the line doesn’t look great, but I was really encouraged,” said Francona. “There was a little more velocity on his fastball than maybe I expected. I thought he had depth to the split and breaking ball. He just left some up, and early on he got a little ahead of himself in his delivery. I was really encouraged. I know we took a loss, and not a really good one, but as he continues repetition, he’s going to be good.”

Throughout his rehab, Smoltz has said he hopes people don’t judge him based on his first performance no matter how it turned out. He said wait for the third, fourth or fifth outings before passing judgment on his 42-year-old abilities.

“In a matter of a few starts I’ll be honed into where I want to be,” he said. “My familiarity will come back real quick in two or three starts. Unfortunately it started off this way, but I’m very encouraged by the stuff I had tonight.”

More importantly, his surgically repaired shoulder was not a factor.

Like most athletes, the next day is always the most important to see how they feel in the morning. Smoltz said Saturday will be the deciding factor.

“Typically, for me, that’s when I find out if a truck hit me or not,” he said. “I’ve been working really hard and I’m in really good shape. I don’t anticipate any issues.”

Smoltz received 71 text messages Thursday, all from family and friends wishing him well.

“What I feared most coming into this game was I wanted to do so well for everybody involved,” he said. “You find yourself going, ’How did I get here? How did four runs just happen?’ No matter if you’re 42 or 22, I feel I can accomplish whatever I want to accomplish this year. That’s why I came back. That’s why the rehab went the way it did. Now it’s a matter of going out there and doing it like I did before.”

His hectic return will only get more bizarre when the Sox begin their three-game series against the Braves Friday in Atlanta.

“I need to get through this weekend,” he said. “This weekend will be interesting for me. Once I get through it, I think I can start relaxing and put my goals right where they need to be and help this team win a lot of games.”

The Sox were never in Thursday night’s game. They cut the Nats’ lead to 5-1 on a David Ortiz sacrifice fly, but Washington jumped on the Boston bullpen to build a 9-1 advantage. A two-run homer by Rocco Baldelli in the ninth made the final 9-3.

jmcdonal@projo.com