PHOENIX — CC Sabathia punched one half of a Cooperstown double Tuesday night when the veteran Yankees left-hander notched his 3,000th strikeout.

The 38-year-old Sabathia became the 17th pitcher in history and third lefty to reach 3,000 whiffs when he fanned Diamondbacks catcher and former teammate John Ryan Murphy to end the second inning.

Working without a script, Sabathia’s teammates gathered outside the first-base line for hugs before Sabathia walked to the front-row seats next to the dugout to do the same with his family.

“Just a relief. Since the end of last year, coming up short with 14 strikeouts, that’s the only thing I have been thinking about for the last six months. To actually have it done and worry about the season and our ultimate goal is to try and win games,’’ said Sabathia, who was tagged with the loss in a 3-1 defeat that took some of the shine away from the big moment.

“For sure, the ultimate goal is to win the game. We came up a little short today,’’ said Sabathia, who is 1-1 in four starts with a 1.77 ERA after undergoing a heart procedure and knee surgery this past offseason. “I feel like I am getting a little better. The cutter was kind of inconsistent today or not there at all.’’

In 5 ¹/₃ innings, Sabathia gave up two runs and five hits, but matched against Zack Greinke (5-1) it wasn’t enough because the Diamondbacks right-hander and two relievers limited the Yankees to a run and five hits. Greinke gave up that run and all the hits in 7 ²/₃ innings.
The loss dropped the Yankees’ overall record to 17-12 and they are 6-2 on a road trip that opened in Anaheim, moved to San Francisco and ends Wednesday at Chase Field.

With the 3,000 strikeouts, Sabathia has one-half of his Hall of Fame résumé complete. Next up is 250 wins and he needs just three more. No pitcher with 3,000 strikeouts and 250 wins besides Roger Clemens, who remains on the ballot, isn’t in the Hall of Fame.

“That’s something to think about after the season. Right now the focus is on winning the division,’’ Sabathia said when asked about being a Hall of Famer. “It’s not up to me to say my place in history. That is for everybody else. I’ll leave my numbers out there and they are what they are. Hopefully one day they will be good enough to get in.’’

Aaron Boone, who played with Sabathia in Cleveland, Brett Gardner, who is the only Yankee who has been with the team longer than Sabathia, and Gary Sanchez, who caught the historic strikeout, believe it’s a slam dunk Sabathia lands in Cooperstown.

“No doubt,’’ said Gardner, who serves with Sabathia and Aaron Judge as clubhouse leaders. “The numbers he has accomplished across this game I don’t think we are going to see that very often anymore.”

Boone said it was an easy call.

“He is a Hall of Famer. To me it is a no-brainer,’’ Boone said.

Sanchez, who scored the Yankees’ only run after starting the fourth with a crisp double to left, echoed the others.

“In my opinion he is a Hall of Fame pitcher,’’ Sanchez said. “The career he has had is amazing.’’

On top of reaching 3,000 strikeouts in loss, Sabathia didn’t want it to be Murphy, a Yankee from 2013-15.

“I didn’t want it to be Murph, me and him are really close,’’ Sabathia said of his former teammate, who went down swinging at a 1-2 changeup. “I didn’t want it to be Greinke and I didn’t want it to be Murph.’’

Three more wins will seal Sabathia’s pass into the Hall of Fame and make his last season in the big leagues remembered for reaching two very large milestones.