By Jeremy Harness

Looking on the bright side for the Giants this week, at least they made their way to the White House to be honored by President Obama.

Other than that, there wasn’t a lot to smile about if you’re a Giants fan. After briefly grabbing the National League West lead from the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Giants fell back down to earth with a thud this week as the Pittsburgh Pirates paid a visit to AT&T Park.

All the Pirates did was sweep the Giants in a three-game series and send the home team to a five-game losing streak to undo a five-game winning streak that saw the Giants catapult into the division lead.

Thankfully for the Giants, they get a change of scenery, with their road trip starting against a struggling opponent.

The Philadelphia Phillies, who have fallen on hard times since losing to the Giants in the 2010 National League Championship Series in six games, await the Giants’ arrival for a three-game series that starts Friday at Citizens Bank Park.

Tim Lincecum, who has had a nice season thus far with a 5-3 record and a 3.00 earned-run average, will take the hill in the series opener against former Giant Jerome Williams (3-5, 5.49 ERA), who has certainly had his ups and downs this year.

The Giants will then bring Madison Bumgarner, who has followed up a dominant season during which he willed the Giants to another World Series title with a 6-2 record an ERA of 3.12, front and center on Saturday opposite Philadelphia’s Severino Gonzalez.

Ryan Vogelsong (4-3, 4.26 ERA) will try to get things back on track in the series finale on Sunday against Philly’s Sean O’Sullivan (1-4, 5.03 ERA).

If the Giants are going to brings things back together, the best opportunity would be this weekend.