Ok, in reality, there is no reason to pay anyone $144 million.  But for the select group that has such a talented and specialized skill set, some do get paid that amount.

Cole Hamels last night showed why he was a part of that group.

His first two starts after signing his monster contract could not have gone more wrong.  He got the lost to both Atlanta and Washington, though he only allowed 4 and 8 hits and allowed 3 earned runs in both.

Last night, that did not happen.

Hamels pitched his way to his 5th career complete game shut-out.

Over the course of the nine innings, he allowed a mere 5 hits, struck-out 6, walked no one and induced 2 double-plays.

It was truly a beauty watching him throw his pitches with pinpoint accuracy.

All the scoring was done in the bottom of the first.

Jimmy Rollins lead the way by smoking a double to start the game.  Domonic Brown, who is finding his

feet in the 2-hole, hit an RBI “double” and is starting to prove that he belongs in the show.

Chase Utley came up and recorded a very loud out.

Ryan Howard stepped to the plate and with a 1-2 count, hit a slider (I know, he hit a slider!!) into the left-centerfield seats.

And that’s it.  That was the entire score for the night.

Mainly because Cole Hamels pitched so effectively.

Oh, by the way, does Ryan Howard look like fat Ryan Howard to you?  Because if he is fat Ryan Howard again, that’s awesome!

Photo courtesy of Steve Trapani – Flickr Follow him on twitter: @Trap_33

Karilee Jeantet is Lead Contributor for A View From Section 116.  Follow her on Twitter @kjeantet and @viewfromsec116 and e-mail her AViewFromSection116@gmail.com