After retiring the side in the seventh inning, Pacella walked the first batter of the eighth, Ted Sizemore.

Larry Bowa then drove Sizemore in with a single, while Reed advanced to third and later scored on wild pitch by Pacella, who escaped without allowing an earned run.

He earned his first major league win against Steve Carlton and the Phillies on June 27,[4] and improved to 3-0 with a 3.43 ERA on July 17 when he and Jeff Reardon combined to shut the Atlanta Braves out.

After the season, he and infielder José Moreno were traded to the San Diego Padres for 1976 Cy Young Award winner Randy Jones.

[6] The following spring, the Padres dealt Pacella and Jerry Mumphrey to the New York Yankees for Ruppert Jones, Joe Lefebvre, Tim Lollar and Chris Welsh.

Shortly after his arrival in Columbus, he was dealt along with Larry Milbourne and Pete Filson from the Yankees to the Minnesota Twins for Butch Wynegar and Roger Erickson on May 12, 1982.