Dansby Swanson was off to one of the best games in Cubs history before it was cut short.

The shortstop singled in his first 4 trips to the plate, becoming the second Cubs player to have 4 hits in the first 5 innings of a game in the last 15 years.

But as the 6th inning began, he trotted out to take his position on the field, threw one warm-up to first base and motioned to the Cubs dugout to come out of the game:

Before the top of the 6th inning, Dansby Swanson threw one ball, motioned to the dugout and came out of the game. pic.twitter.com/iGHRUINaPJ

— Andy Martínez (@amartinez_11) April 12, 2023

The Cubs reported later in the game that Swanson was removed with lower left side tightness but it doesn’t appear as if it will be a long-term issue.

“The doctors are pretty confident it’s just some cramping,” manager David Ross said. “Which makes some sense with the day he’s had.”

Swanson was up at 4 a.m. Tuesday to take his wife, Mallory, to the hospital for surgery on her leg after she suffered a devastating knee injury while playing for the U.S. Women’s National soccer team Saturday.

“I’m heartbroken for her,” Swanson said. “A lot of tears and sadness. Two things can be true at the same time — it can stink and we can be sad and upset and we can also understand God’s bigger picture and plans. Both things can be true. It’s just a sad time. We’ll get through it together.”

As he has dealt with the emotional past few days, Swanson admitted he hasn’t been drinking, eating or sleeping enough. And it all came to a head in the middle of Tuesday night’s epic Cubs comeback.

“My body’s just kinda done for the night,” Swanson said as he stood at his locker after the game. “I have played a lot in my career. The last thing I ever want to do is come out of games. I have little bit of an ego/pride thing with that. It just didn’t feel smart in the moment. Just trusting my gut.”

In Swanson’s absence, the Cubs moved Nico Hoerner over to shortstop and Nick Madrigal was inserted to play second base. That’s how it could line up on Wednesday for the series finale against the Mariners if Swanson can’t go.

As of Tuesday night, Swanson and Ross had not discussed if he would suit up for Wednesday afternoon’s game.

Swanson has missed just 1 game over the last 3 seasons and said he feels a strong sense of pride and ego to be in the lineup every single day. As he’s dealt with his emotional week, Swanson has still been able to perform at a high level for this Cubs team.

“[Ross] always asks me if I’m good, I tell him, ‘it’s my job,'” Swanson said. “I love being here, love being with these guys. We do so much for each other. Going out there and being able to perform for one another is huge.”

Swanson felt like Tuesday night’s incredible come-from-behind victory was a perfect example of the team playing for each other.

“Just an incredibly gritty, selfless performance,” Swanson said. “You just saw the ABs that took place. You could see that no one was trying to get things back with one swing. Working counts, taking what we were given. Putting the ball in play, making good things happen. And then [Michael Rucker] was huge, picking us up for those early innings. The bullpen did just a tremendous job the rest of the night keeping them at bay.

“Truly a complete team performance after the first couple innings. We just kept chipping away. We knew it was going to be a long game. Wrigley always provides some exciting times. It was an amazing thing to be a part of.”