He won 20 games for Cincinnati four times between 1935 and 1940, peaking with a 25–7 season in 1939 as the Reds won the NL pennant for the first time in 20 years. His 161 victories with Cincinnati are the club record for a right-hander, and rank second in franchise history to Eppa Rixey's 179; he also held the team record for career strikeouts when his career ended. His 579 games pitched ranked eighth in NL history when he retired, and his average of 1.88 walks per 9 innings pitched ranked behind only Christy Mathewson (1.59) and Grover Cleveland Alexander (1.65) among pitchers with 3000 innings in the NL since 1900.