 In his second game of the 1979 season, Richard set the modern-day record for throwing six wild pitches in a single game against the Dodgers. Despite this, he finished the game with a 13-strikeout performance in a 2 – 1 Astros victory. He won his first four decisions that season but those victories were followed by four losses. He continued to accumulate strikeouts and finally began to walk fewer batters on average, exhibiting greater control over his pitching. Richard evened out his record at seven wins and seven losses by pitching a complete game three-hit shutout against the Padres on June 30. By the All-Star break, Richard had 7 wins, 10 losses, a 3.52 earned run average and 158 strikeouts in just a bit over 157 innings of work. By July 25, his record stood at eight wins and 11 losses, but after he pitched nine straight complete games (including two-hit and three-hit shutouts on August 27 and September 6, respectively) through September 6 and worked 86 consecutive innings without the need of a relief pitcher, which set an Astros club record, it was clear that he was on a winning streak. On September 21, in a game against the Reds, he pitched 11 innings and matched a career high of 15 strikeouts, which he also reached earlier in the season on August 3 in a game against the Braves. He closed out the season against the Dodgers by winning his 11th straight game against the team, with his last loss coming on June 23, 1976. He was honored as the National League Pitcher of the Month for September after going 4 – 1 with a 1.24 ERA, four complete games, two shutouts and 69 strikeouts in 53 innings pitched during the stretch.
