NJ.com reports:
Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia received a standing ovation in a visiting park in the second inning Tuesday night, then another when he was removed from the game in the sixth.
This was a historic night at Chase Field, one that had a sour ending for the Yankees, as the mini in-game celebration for the left-hander joining the 3,000-strikeout club led to disappointment.
While Sabathia pitched well holding the Arizona to two runs over 5 1/3 innings, Diamondbacks ace Zack Greinke was better pitching into the eighth and the Yankees wound up 3-1 losers.
Sabathia went into the game needing three strikeouts to become the 17th pitcher and third left-hander to reach 3,000, and he got them all in a second inning that included Diamondbacks second baseman Wilmer Flores hitting a two-out homer to open the scoring.
A fan favorite during his Mets days, Flores continued to be a big pest to Sabathia, and he broke a 1-1 tie in the fourth with a two-out RBI single, and that was it for the scoring until the D’backs tacked on an insurance run in the ninth when David Peralta hit a sacrifice fly off Yankees reliever Zack Britton.
No. 3,000 came two batters after Flores’ homer and, ironically, the victim was Diamondbacks catcher John Ryan Murphy, a former Yankee who was behind the plate for Sabathia’s 2,5000th career strikeout in June. Sabathia, by the way, was ejected from that game.
The 3,000th strikeout ended the Diamondbacks’ third, and when Sabathia walked off the mound, he was greeted by the entire Yankees team in front of the first base dugout. He then hugged his wife and kids, who were standing next to the Yankees dugout, before leading off the top of the third by striking out facing Greinke.
