Cards' Daniel Poncedeleon carries no-hitter through 7 IP in MLB debut

St. Louis Cardinals right-hander Daniel Poncedeleon threw seven no-hit innings in his MLB debut Monday night against the  Cincinnati Reds. 

Poncedeleon threw 116 pitches while striking out three and walking three, but was taken out of the game after the seventh. Reds pinch hitter  Phillip Ervin singled off St. Louis reliever Jordan Hicks with one out in the eighth inning, ending the no-hitter.

According to Elias Sports Bureau research, Poncedeleon is the fifth pitcher to carry a no-hit bid through seven innings in his MLB debut in the Expansion Era (since 1961).

The 26-year-old was making his first start in the majors more than a year after taking a line drive to his right temple in a Triple-A game.

Poncedeleon ultimately underwent brain surgery following the May incident, but by February he had progressed so much that St. Louis invited him to its big league spring training camp.

"He's earned his spot and he's earned his chance here and it had nothing to do with his brain injury," Poncedeleon's father, Ramon Poncedeleon, said in an in-game interview during the bottom of the seventh inning. "He earned what he's done today."

For Triple-A Memphis this season, Poncedeleon has a 9-3 record, a 2.15 ERA and 103 strikeouts in 92 innings. He won his last four starts, including a one-hitter in his last appearance on July 15 -- the first complete-game shutout of his five minor league seasons.

He was called up last month, but the Cardinals sent him back down after three games in which he didn't see action.