McNally hit a home run against Tom Murphy on June 9, 1970, and held the Angels to three runs over seven innings, but the bullpen gave up some additional runs as the Orioles lost 7–5. On June 21, McNally pitched into the ninth inning before being replaced by Pete Richert, limited Washington to two runs, and won his 100th career game as the Orioles defeated the Senators 4–2. He made the All-Star team for the second year in a row, picked by Weaver, who was managing the team. McNally had a 12–7 record and a 4.38 ERA on July 18, but he posted a 1.96 ERA for the remainder of the season and went 12–2, with the Orioles winning 14 of the 17 games he appeared in thereafter. From July 26 through August 29, he won nine consecutive games. On August 21, 1970, McNally threw a shutout in a 5–0 victory over the Angels. Four days later, he allowed 10 hits in a complete game against the Athletics, but only one run, and he picked up his 20th win of the season as Baltimore defeated Oakland by a score of 5–1. On August 29, he gave up only one run in a complete game, 6–1 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers; the run was unearned. During the 1970 season, the Orioles never lost more than two straight games in which Palmer, Cuellar, and McNally started. The two times they lost two games in a row, it was McNally who ended the streak. McNally's 24 wins at the end of the year tied with teammate Cuellar and Jim Perry for the AL lead. McNally ranked seventh with 185 strikeouts, tied with four others for the lead with 40 starts, and ranked fourth with 296 innings pitched. After the season, he finished second to Jim Perry in AL Cy Young Award voting and ranked 16th in AL MVP voting.