1985 was a mixed year of benefits and downsides for Niekro. On June 9, he became the all-time winningest pitcher in Astros history, breaking a tie with Larry Dierker (137) by weaving a complete game shut out of the San Francisco Giants at the Astrodome while allowing just two hits. 35 years later, he has held onto the record, as Roy Oswalt fell one win short of tying him for the record. On July 2, he won his 200th career game, throwing a complete game against the San Diego Padres while throwing seven innings and allowing two runs on six hits. Niekro went 9-12 with a 3.72 ERA in 213 innings before being traded to the New York Yankees on September 15 for two players to be named later (Neder Horta and Dody Rather) and Jim Deshaies, where Niekro briefly reunited again with his brother Phil. In his three seasons with New York, he went 14–15 with a 4.58 ERA in 188.2 total innings. He was traded to the Minnesota Twins for Mark Salas on June 7, 1987. He went 4–9 with a 6.26 ERA in 96.1 innings. That year, he pitched in the World Series, his only appearance in a World Series. In his one appearance in Game 4, he pitched the fifth and sixth innings. He allowed one hit while striking out one and allowing no runs.