the bullpen; supposedly, Pirates' manager Danny Murtaugh wanted to protect Kison's arm from the early-season cold weather. He joined the Pirates' rotation on May 23, replacing Moose, who moved to the bullpen. After going 0–2 in three starts with a 6.28 ERA, though, he went back to the bullpen in favor of Larry Demery. He rejoined the rotation July 14, though, and stayed in it for most of the rest of the year. The 1974 season saw Kison set what would be a career-high in games (40, only 16 of which were starts). He had a 9–8 record and a 3.49 ERA, though blister problems during the year started affecting him in the sixth inning of his starts. Pittsburgh won the NL East, and Kison started Game 3 of the NLCS against the Los Angeles Dodgers, pitching shutout innings in Pittsburgh's 7–0 victory. The win was Pittsburgh's lone victory of the series, as the Dodgers defeated them in four games. In 1975, Kison was the third starter for the Pirates. Through July 17, he had a 9–4 record and a 3.23 ERA. After that, he lost seven starts in a row before getting moved to the bullpen at the end of August. In one of those losses, on August 17 to Cincinnati, Kison allowed Pete Rose's 2,500th career hit. While in the bullpen, he snapped his losing streak on August 31 in a 9–6 victory over the Houston Astros. Used as a starter again in September, he won two more games, finishing the year with a 12–11 record and a 3.23 ERA in 33 games (29 starts). He had more walks (92) than strikeouts (89) on the season. The Pirates reached the playoffs again, but Kison made no starts for them, his lone appearance in the series coming in relief of Game 2 of the NLCS, as the Pirates were swept in three games by the Reds. The relief appearance snapped a streak of scoreless innings in the playoffs for Kison. Kison was the Pirates' number two starter in 1976, behind Doc Medich. After posting an ERA close to 6.00 in his first five starts, he changed his position on the mound. "I used to pitch from the third-base side of the rubber. My fastball was tailing away from left-handed hitters. The good ones were taking the pitch because it wasn’t a strike.” Through August 20, he had a 9–8