SAN FRANCISCO — First came the decision to put rookie third baseman Ian Stewart into the lineup on an everyday basis and move Garrett Atkins to first base while Todd Helton was on the disabled list with lower-back problems. It was done so the Rockies could see what the future might hold for Stewart.

Then they opted to keep left- hander Jorge De La Rosa in the rotation after they claimed Livan Hernandez on waivers. They were curious about whether they could finally solve De La Rosa’s problems with consistency and be able to include him in their future rotation plans.

Now the Rockies are starting to act like the future might be now. And as disappointing as their season has been, they might actually be primed to make a late-season run at the postseason for the second year in a row.

With De La Rosa turning in another solid effort on the mound and Jason Grilli finishing up for the first save of his professional career, the Rockies knocked off the Giants 7-2 on Tuesday night at AT&T Park.

They have now won four in a row overall and 13 of their past 18 on the road. After losses again by Arizona and Los Angeles, the Rockies find themselves six games behind the National League West-leading Diamondbacks and three behind the second-place Dodgers with 28 games to play.

“Someone asked me about our situation last weekend and I told him we were going to need to win a lot of series,” manager Clint Hurdle said. “But in the clubhouse we approach it one game at a time. It’s a cliché but it makes sense in our situation.”

Grilli worked the final three innings, providing the other members of a beleaguered bullpen a night of rest. It was his 176th big-league appearance, 41 with the Rockies since they acquired him from Detroit on April 30.

Having already claimed their fourth consecutive series win and pulling within eight games of .500 (63-71) for the first time since they were 15-23 on May 11, the Rockies go into tonight’s series finale looking for a road sweep for the second time in their past three road series — and the third time in the past six.

De La Rosa had his problems early. He walked the first two batters in the bottom of the first. He also gave up a run in the second, when Rich Aurilia led off with a double and, after a two-out walk of pitcher Matt Palmer, De La Rosa gave up a run-scoring double to Randy Winn. And he needed 71 pitches to get through the first three innings.

De La Rosa, though, needed only 39 more pitches to get through the next three innings, putting together his fourth consecutive quality start and his sixth in his past seven starts.

“I was talking to someone about (De La Rosa) and he said, ‘Just stop watching the game and enjoy it,’” Hurdle said. “You have to let him paint his own portrait. You have to find a way to separate the emotions from letting him try to work his way through things.”

When De La Rosa first came over from Kansas City, he rarely got out of the jams. Lately, other than a seven-run, 12/3-inning debacle at Florida on July 31, he has been able to keep the emotions in check and the damage has been limited.

“That might be part of his growth,” Hurdle said. “He puts himself in situations and puts his foot down and gets out of them. Earlier, he would get more frustrated with each batter.”

The Rockies provided De La Rosa early support, exploiting Palmer, who was shipped back to the minor leagues after failing to get out of the fifth inning of his third big-league start.

He gave up four runs in a third inning that included walks to Brad Hawpe and Stewart, and two-run singles to Atkins and Chris Iannetta. Troy Tulowitzki delivered a sacrifice fly in the fifth, and Stewart and Tulowitzki delivered run-scoring singles in the seventh.

With four consecutive come- from-behind victories, the Rockies are 24-14 since the All-Star break, having moved ahead of the Giants in the NL West and cutting 21/2 games off the lead of Arizona, which has lost back-to-back games to last-place San Diego.

Hernandez will get the chance to complete the sweep when he starts tonight against a Giants team of which he was a member from 1999 to 2002.

Hernandez, though, has struggled in three starts since joining the Rockies, giving up at least five runs in each game.

“It is an opportunity for him to take a step forward,” Hurdle said.