Milner found himself in more of a reserve role with Pittsburgh, with the 333 at-bats he logged in being his fewest outside of his injury plagued season. His finest season with the Pirates came in , when he hit sixteen home runs and drove in sixty backing up Willie Stargell at first and Bill Robinson in left field. Milner was held hitless in nine at-bats in the 1979 National League Championship Series with the Cincinnati Reds, but was 3-for-9 in the World Series with a run batted in and two runs scored.