Charlie Morton allowed three hits in six scoreless innings Tuesday to pick up his 10th win of the season.

PHOENIX — The Pittsburgh Pirates are making it tough for the Arizona Diamondbacks to wrap things up in the NL West.

Charlie Morton allowed three hits in six scoreless innings, one of his best outings of the season, and the Pirates beat the Diamondbacks 5-3 on Tuesday night to square the series at a game apiece.

Derek Lee hit a two-run homer in the eighth and Pedro Alvarez a solo shot in the second for Pittsburgh, which snapped a four-game losing streak.

Morton was the beneficiary of some great defense.

“That was the best defensively played game behind me I ever had,” he said. “My stuff was all right, a little inconsistent. I fell behind a lot of guys. They were hitting some balls pretty hard actually. I just had some great plays behind me.”

Morton (10-10), loser of his previous four starts, allowed three hits and struck out five in his first victory since Aug. 8.

“He continues to work well, throw strikes, sink the ball,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. “He spun the ball well tonight. It was a very solid outing for him and we found a way to score a couple more than them.”

Morton had two hits, doubling his total for the season in 48 at-bats. The single and double brought his average for the season to .080.

Daniel Hudson (16-11) lasted five innings for the Diamondbacks, allowing three runs and seven hits.

The Diamondbacks, 1-0 winners on Monday night to give Ian Kennedy his 20th victory, close out their three-game series with Pittsburgh on Wednesday, then have Thursday off before hosting the Giants in a three-game set beginning Friday night. Any combination of three Arizona wins or San Francisco losses clinches the division title for the Diamondbacks.