BOSTON -- Bret Saberhagen blew a bubble as he left the mound, then sat in the Boston clubhouse without ice on his right shoulder.

He was matter-of-fact Friday night after a milestone in the long struggle back from his third shoulder surgery, saying he could have lasted even more than six innings.

But he knew his accomplishment -- a dominant performance in his first appearance in the majors in 648 days -- was amazing.

"I think I'm going to sit back in a while and really appreciate what's happening," he said

Saberhagen allowed one run, three hits and no walks and struck out three as the Red Sox beat the Chicago White Sox 9-5.

He retired 14 consecutive batters before Royce Clayton led off the sixth with a homer. After a bunt single, Saberhagen retired the last three batters he faced.

"I thought I was going to get one more (inning)," he said after throwing 75 pitches, one fewer than he threw in his fifth and last rehabilitation appearance. "I wasn't laboring."

He's not quite the pitcher who won the 1985 AL Cy Young award and World Series with Kansas City when he was just 21. But he mixed his pitches well, had his typical pinpoint control and threw a fastball that topped out at 94 mph.

"If he's lost anything since the injury, I hate to see what he's lost," Clayton said.

Certainly not his confidence or his determination to succeed.

"If I can have decent velocity and put the ball where I want, I'm going to win some games," Saberhagen said. "I want to get back to postseason."

His return should help Boston pursue the New York Yankees, who lead the Red Sox by 2 1/2 games in the AL East.

Saberhagen had spent many of the previous 647 days running, throwing softly and hoping all that hard work would pay off in the stretch drive of his career.

It did Friday night when he had one of the best outings of any Boston pitcher this season.

"It's very encouraging," catcher Scott Hatteberg said. "We didn't expect him to be that sharp. It was a pleasure to catch him."

The last batter Saberhagen faced was Carlos Lee, who hit a routine popup to Jose Offerman.

Saberhagen turned and watched as the ball settled into the second baseman's glove. Then he walked off the mound with an 8-1 lead, the cheers of many of the 33,813 fans ringing in his ears and the high fives of teammates awaiting him in the dugout.

"I've never taken a curtain call," he said. "It was enough hearing the fans."

Saberhagen, 37, last pitched in the majors in the fourth game of the 1999 AL Championship Series against the Yankees when he allowed one earned run in six innings of a 9-2 loss.

The following March he had surgery for an almost completely torn rotator cuff. He progressed in spring training this year then was set back by the flu.

He had more serious shoulder surgery in 1996, missing that season with Colorado and not pitching again in the majors until Aug. 22, 1997, with Boston.

He was 25-14 for Boston the next two seasons before being sidelined again. But he said his shoulder felt better Friday than at any time since his 1996 operation.

"This is the first time that I haven't felt any pain" since then, he said.

He threw 75 pitches Friday, an average of fewer than 13 an inning, and 53 were strikes.

He threw balls on the first pitch to just six of 21 batters and ended with only 22 balls. That's not unusual but still impressive for a pitcher who has had great control throughout a career that began with Kansas City in 1984.

On Friday, "I wasn't as nervous as I thought I would be," he said, "but I had some emotions."

He retired Chicago's first batter, Ray Durham, on a grounder. Then Jose Valentin singled and stole second. But that was Chicago's last hit until the sixth inning.

Saberhagen has said he plans to retire after the season. But he indicated after the game he might reconsider if he keeps pitching well.

Unless, of course, he helps Boston win its first World Series since 1918.

"If we get a World Series championship, I'd be able to walk away," he said. "No problem."