"First game of the season" - Mallory Pugh cheers on husband Dansby Swanson at Wrigley Field during Cubs vs. Astros Game 2
Dansby Swanson's wife, Mallory Pugh, attended her first MLB game in person at Wrigley Field on Tuesday. Matched up against the Houston Astros, Swanson & Co. blew out the opposition as they secured a 7-2 victory.
Pugh, who is a soccer player for the Chicago Red Stars, took some time out and marked her presence at the ballpark. Taking to her Instagram stories, she wrote:
"First game of the season".
After the Braves won the World Series in 2021, Swanson and Pugh got engaged. A year later in December 2022, the couple tied the knot in front of family and friends at the Ritz Carlton Reynolds Lake Oconee in Greensboro, Georgia.
Dansby Swanson opens up on challenges after Mallory Pugh's injury
Ahead of the 2023 season, cubs-shortstop-dansby-swanson-urges-team-get-cody-bellinger-deal-line" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-is-sponsored="false">Dansby Swanson signed with the Cubs on a seven-year, $177 million deal. Given his wife, Mallory Pugh, also playing for the Chicago Red Stars in the soccer league, it was an easy decision for him.
However, things changed, when Pugh went down to the ground after a collision with Ireland's Aoife Mannion in a friendly game in April ahead of the World Cup. It was a nasty left knee injury that squashed her WC dreams. Swanson said (via ESPN):
"It's been incredibly tough. When you see the person you love the most be hurt like that, it's just emotional. Just devastating."
On one hand, Swanson had to help out his wife who was in rehab following surgery, and on the other, he had to keep up with his baseball schedule. This affected his hitting to some extent as well as the Cubs infielder went hitless in four of the next five games.
Swanson added:
"The difficult part just comes in being pretty fricking tired every day. She was up [at night], I'm up ... It's truly the sickness-and-health part."
As mentioned by the couple, both of them remain steadfast in support of each other. They embraced the challenge of keeping up with both personal and professional commitments. Swanson said:
"I care a lot about my wife and [her] health, but I also care about this. It's just been a new challenge, each day giving as much as you can and more, and then getting your rest and doing it again the next day."
So far this season, Dansby Swanson is hitting .235 with three home runs and 11 RBIs.