New York Yankees veteran CC Sabathia became the third left-hander in baseball history to amass 3,000 career strikeouts, reaching the milestone Tuesday against the Arizona Diamondbacks in Phoenix.
Sabathia, 38, joined Randy Johnson (4,875 strikeouts) and Steve Carlton (4,136) as the only lefties among the 17 pitchers in the 3,000-K club.
Arizona catcher John Ryan Murphy swung at strike three to end the second inning, giving Sabathia three strikeouts on the night (all in the inning) and allowing him to reach the milestone.
Nolan Ryan is the all-time leader with 5,714 strikeouts, and Johnson is second.
Sabathia, a six-time All-Star and the 2007 American League Cy Young Award winner, is in his 19th major league season.