Wood had a 5–5 record through June 4, 1978, but he won his next five decisions to raise his record to 10–5, despite posting a 4.42 ERA over that span. On June 8, he allowed one run and struck out five in innings to earn the victory in a 2–1 win over the Twins. He threw a complete game on July 13, allowing just one run in a 6–1 victory over the Yankees. However, from July 18 through August 10, he lost five straight decisions, posting a 9.51 ERA. After his August 10 start, Wood was removed from the starting rotation in favor of prospect Ross Baumgarten, making his major league debut. Wood made just one further appearance all season, pitching two scoreless innings to finish a 6–3 loss to the Royals on August 22. Placed on waivers in late August, Wood was claimed by Pittsburgh and Milwaukee, the latter of which worked out a trade for him. However, Wood vetoed the deal. "I didn’t want to go. I’m sure that bothered the folks in Milwaukee, but I figured that I’d try the free-agent market that offseason and see what happened," he recalled. In 28 games (27 starts), he had a 10–10 record, a 5.20 ERA, 69 strikeouts, 74 walks, and 187 hits allowed in 168 innings pitched.