3.17 ERA in 33 games (16 starts) and made the playoffs for the sixth time as the Angels won the American League West. Tabbed to start in Game 2 of the ALCS against the Milwaukee Brewers, Kison allowed two runs over nine innings in a 4–2 Angel victory. He also started Game 5, giving up two runs (one earned) in five innings and leaving with the Angels ahead, but the Brewers came back and won 4–3 to win the Series in five games. In 1983, Kison was the Opening Day starter for the Angels, the first time in his 13 seasons he got a chance to start his team's first game of the year. His season started strong, as he won six of his first seven decisions. He missed a month from May 27 to June 27, then was moved to the bullpen in August after posting an 8.31 ERA in July. Shut down in September with injuries, he had surgery on September 26 to repair a herniated disk in his back; manager John McNamara feared his career was over. In 26 games (17 starts), he had an 11–5 record and a 4.05 ERA. Kison's career was not over; though he spent the beginning of 1984 on the disabled list, he returned to the team on June 13 as a reliever. In August, he rejoined the team's rotation after Geoff Zahn had surgery on bone chips in his knee. In 20 games (seven starts), he had a 4–5 record and a 5.37 ERA, the highest of his career. After the season, he became a free agent. Kison joined the Boston Red Sox in 1985, rejoining McNamara, who had managed him the previous two seasons with the Angels. He began the year in Boston's starting rotation but pulled a hamstring and went on the disabled list after his first start. He returned to the rotation in May, then was moved to the bullpen at the end of June after relinquishing six runs in three starts in a row. In 22 games (9 starts), he had a 5–3 record and a 4.11 ERA. McNamara praised the veteran Kison's influence on Boston's young pitchers. Diagnosed with a torn rotator cuff, he retired after the season. "I think what I will miss most is the competitiveness of the game," Kison said upon retiring. "I’ll also miss the camaraderie of my teammates.” During a 15-year