BOX SCORE

Friday marked the first of nine days of Chicago Cubs baseball on the West Coast, with start times later than usual for those watching back in the Central time zone.

The Cubs (74-55), however, are soaking up the sun on a road trip that began on a high note with a 3-2 win over the Los Angeles Angels (61-67) in the series opener.

Here are three things we learned as Kyle Tucker and Pete Crow-Armstrong each got back to their sweet-swinging ways:

Return of the King

The Kyle Tucker saga of the past month has been one of burning questions and missed opportunities.

Tucker’s offensive slump — the worst of his career — took center stage: Every strikeout, every groundout and every time he just didn’t look like himself at the plate.

To add to the madness, it was revealed Wednesday that the Cubs’ All-Star right fielder had been dealing with a hairline fracture in his finger since June 1 — even though he didn’t believe it was affecting his performance.

For a player with just 18 hits in his last 101 at-bats (.178) and a .257 slugging percentage over that time, the Cubs’ West Coast trip was shaping up to be a critical reset period for Tucker. He found himself back in the lineup for just the second time in the Cubs’ last five games on Friday evening in Anaheim, and he knew he had a job to do.

In his first at-bat, Tucker crushed a 405-foot blast to open the scoring and give the Cubs an early lead. It was an 88.4 mph fastball at his knees — and it was the first time Tucker made an opposing pitcher pay for an offering like that since his last home run on July 19.

Tucker and the Cubs will hope Friday is the beginning of a turnaround for the 28-year-old after he went 0-for-4 in his return against the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday, following a three-game absence.

They’d certainly hope the same for fellow slump-sufferer Crow-Armstrong, whose go-ahead home run in the ninth was his first bomb since July 23.

Quality assured

Javier Assad made just his third start of the season on Friday, but it’s safe to say he’s looked better with every appearance. The numbers tell that story for themselves.

Here’s a look at Assad’s lines in each of his first three bump days:

• Aug. 12 @ TOR: 4.0 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 70 pitches (48 strikes)
• Aug. 17 vs. PIT: 4.0 IP, 5 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 65 pitches (44 strikes)
• Aug. 22 @ LAA: 6.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 72 pitches (45 strikes)

Friday was the sharpest Assad has looked yet. Even though he wasn’t generating much swing and miss, he was efficient — not allowing a hit to the Angels’ lineup until former Crosstown foe Yoan Moncada crushed a 105.8 mph solo shot to get the Halos on the board in the bottom of the fifth.

In the sixth, Assad got into his riskiest jam when he walked Mike Trout to put two men on base for Taylor Ward, who has been incredibly reliable (.870 OPS) for Los Angeles with runners in scoring position this season.

But that didn’t faze Assad at all. Instead, he froze Ward with a nasty sequence: Two cutters in the zone that Ward stared at, a ball in the dirt he laid off and then a painted sinker on the outside corner that Ward watched go by, too. The inning was over just like that, and Assad was pumped as he walked off the mound.

It was that at-bat that sealed Assad’s 12th career quality start — but he fell out of position for the win when reliever Andrew Kittredge allowed Moncada’s second home run of the game to tie it in the seventh.

Here, there, everywhere

When Matt Shaw made a nice play running play on a half-swing chopper to nab Trout in the second inning, it wasn’t exactly jaw-dropping.

But that’s not because it wasn’t impressive — it’s because he’s begun to make those plays routinely.

The Cubs’ rookie third baseman has settled in more than nicely in a position that the team so desperately needed a mainstay at the beginning of the year. And just as he’s settled in at the plate, he’s also made the hot corner his own.

He didn’t stop in the second inning, either: Shaw made three more incredible plays, including two diving stops that showcased his evolving range:

Per Fangraphs, Shaw entered Friday with eight defensive runs saved at third base this season, which ranks second in MLB at the position.

The series continues Saturday with another 8:38 p.m. CT matchup in Anaheim.

Cade Horton (7-4, 3.08 ERA) should be ready and recovered from the finger blister that caused him to exit his start against the Brewers on Monday.

Coverage begins at 7:30 p.m. CT on Marquee Sports Network.