Dansby Swanson’s selfless gesture for Cubs pitchers during no-hitter | Chicago Cubs News

Dansby Swanson is always locked in.

While many of his Cubs teammates were unaware they were a part of a no-hitter, the 2-time Gold Glove shortstop was well aware of the situation.

He did have a momentary lapse, however, when he almost ran off the field with only 2 outs in an inning earlier in the game – “my bad” he said, smiling.

But he knew what was at stake overall for his pitching staff and the team.

So when Craig Counsell made some defensive changes during the 12-0 blowout win to get some regular players off their feet, Swanson did not want to come out of the game.

“That’s one of the big reasons why I ended up wanting to stay in the game, just to be able to finish it out,” Swanson said.

Complete coverage of the no-hitter
–WATCH: The final out as Cubs put finishing touches on no-no
–Every out from the 2nd combined no-hitter in franchise history
–Shota Imanaga wasn’t aware of the no-hitter during outing
–Craig Counsell explains thought process behind taking Imanaga out of game
–Amaya, Hodge react after final out
–Analyzing the epic pitching performance from Imanaga, Pearson and Hodge
–The final out from every Cubs no-hitter since 2008
–Alex Cohen and Jim Deshaies recap no-hitter
–Pat Hughes’ call of the final out
–Miguel Esparza’s call of the final out in Spanish

In the bottom of the 7th inning, Patrick Wisdom pinch-hit for Ian Happ and remained in the game in left field.

After the 7th inning, Luis Vázquez replaced Isaac Paredes at third base, Miles Mastrobuoni came in for Nico Hoerner at second and Mike Tauchman stepped in for Cody Bellinger in right field.

Around the same time, the Cubs coaching staff approached Swanson about coming out of the game but the veteran – who has been playing every day for a while now during a playoff push – refused.

“They said, ‘hey, you’re done,’” Swanson relayed. “I said, ‘no, I’m not.’ I was kind of like, ‘think about it. Can’t say it. Think about it.’”

Swanson had already enjoyed a stellar day at the plate with 3 hits, including a single, double and homer – so he was closing in on the cycle.

“I think at first they thought it was more for trying to get a triple,” Swanson said. “And I was like, ‘man, I don’t know if I can run that far.’

“It was more for the defensive stuff. And yeah, it was really cool [to be a part of]. … I got my way.”

It was a good thing the Cubs kept Swanson in there, as he fielded all 3 balls in the 9th inning – including the final out.