 On April 19, 1964, Bruce struck out three batters on nine pitches in the eighth inning of a 6–2 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers, becoming the seventh National League pitcher and the 12th pitcher in major league history to accomplish the nine-strike/three-strikeout half-inning, only one day after Sandy Koufax achieved the same feat.That season, Bruce also reached career bests in complete games (nine), shutouts (four), and earned run average (2.76, tenth in the National League).He threw the last pitch in Colt Stadium on September 27, 1964, then—on April 12, 1965—he threw the first pitch in the history of the Astrodome, as the Opening Day starting pitcher for the renamed "Astros".