By Morris Phillips

Maybe not a changing of the guard, but clearly a role reversal, the Nationals—not the Giants—have looked like the best team in the National League so far this week.

Matt Cain suffered a disastrous first inning on Wednesday, allowing four walks and three runs and the Giants fell to the Nats for the third straight day, 6-2.  The loss marked only the second three-game losing streak the Giants have suffered this season, and comes on the heels of the team winning 14 of 17.

The Dodgers failed to gain any ground on the Giants in the NL West, losing 5-0 to the fatigues-clad Reds in Cincinnati.  Los Angeles remains 7 ½ games behind the Giants with 97 games remaining to close the gap.

Cain’s wild first inning saw him walk the first three batters of the game, an ignominious feat that hadn’t befallen a Giants’ pitcher since Russ Ortiz did it in 2001 against the Diamondbacks.  The Giants’ most veteran player went on to walk a fourth guy in the inning and the Giants found themselves down 3-0 before they got an opportunity to swing the bats.

Pitching and defense went a long way for the Nats as starter Tanner Roark tamed the Giants through the first six innings, allowing two runs on seven hits.  Ryan Zimmerman provided the signature defensive play behind Roark to end the sixth, when he chased down Brandon Crawford’s slicing drive with a runner aboard and the Giants trailing 4-1.

Tim Hudson takes the mound on Thursday as the Giants attempt to avoid the sweep with young Blake Treinen in search of his first major league win for the Nats.