There were 17 last season, 20 in 2022, 32 in 2021, 54 in 2019, and 30 in 2018. And so far, just one this year. Complete games are becoming a rarity… Only Rouen’s Chikari Igami pulled off this feat, but it came in a 0-1 loss for his team against Montpellier. Lopez also pitched 9 innings, but the game went to the 10th and he was relieved, so it doesn’t count as a complete game.

This trend is likely another effect of the JFL, but it’s certainly shining a spotlight on bullpens and catchers. There are specialists like Garcia-Delgado, Orozsco, Hrytisvhilli, Priest, Perez, Ozanich, and others who split time between starting and relief roles, like De La Rosa, Escorcha, Mastre, Paredes. Some occasionally reinforce the bullpen, like Prioul, Igami, Canelon. But relievers have never been as crucial as they are this year. Baseball TV France offers a rundown of the forces at play.

For each team, the stats line includes wins (W), losses (L), saves (Sv), blown saves (BS), holds (H), earned run average (ERA), opponents’ batting average (BAA), strikeout-to-walk ratio (K/BB, the higher the better), the percentage of runners on base when a reliever enters who go on to score (inhsc, the lower the better), and the number of relievers used this season.

–       La Rochelle

4W, 4L, 2 Sv, 2 BS, 4.01 ERA, .259 BAA, 2.58 K/BB, 36.8% inhsc, 8 relievers.

Early in the season, Escorcha was tasked with closing games and did so perfectly with 1 win and 2 saves. He was later used as a starter. De La Rosa has been very effective in long relief, notably with his 29 strikeouts in 20 innings. Perrois has also stepped in for long relief 7 times. In recent matchdays, Nieves seems to be the go-to man for the end of games, even if he took the loss against Sénart. The Buccaneers sometimes run low on resources and had to call on veteran Patrice Briones to get out Léo Jiminian last weekend. That must have brought back memories for the left-hander, who had faced Carlos Jiminian several times in his career.

–       Metz

2W, 1L, 2 Sv, 2 BS, 3.45 ERA, .285 BAA, 1.32 K/BB, 35% inhsc, 9 relievers.

The Cometz bullpen is the busiest, with 91.3 innings pitched, partly due to using Ten Eyck as an opener. Paredes has been called upon most often, successfully (1 W, 1.93 ERA), for long stints of 5 innings or more three times. Priest steps in more exclusively at the end of games, but has pitched at least 3 innings in each of his outings. Launay has come in 3 times in relief, without giving up a single run. Paula and Quiroz are also part of the solutions.

–       Montigny

2W, 3L, 2 BS, 7.15 ERA, .340 BAA, 0.51 K/BB, 72.2% inhsc, 10 relievers.

As with the rest of their season, it’s been tough for the Cougars’ bullpen. Monbeig has done well (no runs in 7.2 innings and 5 outings), Mottay has done the job (1 W in 5 outings), but the rest have struggled, like Mastre with a 5.84 ERA in 6 appearances. Young arms Benemacher, Grisot, Guesmia have been called upon, but it’s been very tough for them.

–       Montpellier

5W, 4L, 3 Sv, 3 Hd, 3 BS, 2.81 ERA, .254 BAA, 1.15 K/BB, 28.6% inhsc, 11 relievers.

Ozanich has taken on the closing role and is doing well with a 1.26 ERA in 8 outings, 2 W and 1 save. The starting pitcher from the challenge final, Bello, is now pitching middle relief, with decent results (1 save, 1 hold, 2.08 ERA), but a bit too many walks, 8 in 8 and two-thirds innings. It’s been much tougher for Gosselin, who in 5 appearances has lost 2 games with a high 5.68 ERA. Canelon (2 times) and Brossier (3 times) have also been used.

–       Rouen

1W, 2L, 6 Sv, 2 BS, 1 Hd, 2.01 ERA, .173 BAA, 1.90 K/BB, 0% inhsc, 8 relievers.

The Huskies’ bullpen is a bit unusual in that there’s no designated closer, but Becquey varies his end-of-game strategies, with success as 6 wins have been protected (as many as Toulouse) for just 1 blown save, by Vincent against Savigny. The Huskies’ coach rarely calls on his pitchers in the middle of an inning, which explains why they’ve only faced one runner on the bases, who didn’t score. Early in the season, Magnien was called upon most often, but now it’s Laval-Quesney who is used most, with 5 appearances and a solid 1.54 ERA. Prioul and Igami have each entered 2 times at the end of games, saving each one.

–       Savigny

4W, 4L, 3 Sv, 1 Hd, 1 BS, 3.16 ERA, .192 BAA, 1.59 K/BB, 33.3% inhsc, 6 relievers.

Orozco once again proves he’s one of the top specialists at the reliever position. He has appeared in 13 of the 16 games played by the Lions, including one start. He has a 2-2 record, with 3 saves, an excellent 1.72 ERA and only 1 of the 11 runners who were on base when he entered the game went on to score. He has had 3 outings of 4 innings or more. Neyraud has also been busy, with 10 appearances, usually in the middle of the game. A small weak point is his 9 walks in 17.7 innings, but he has generally done good work. The Lions have called on Hassed for short relief in their last 3 games. They also count on Romero, who has less success with a 5.40 ERA in 5 appearances.

–       Sénart

3W, 2L, 3 Sv, 1 Hd, 1 BS, 6.06 ERA, .265 BAA, 0.90 K/BB, 46.7% inhsc, 11 relievers.

It’s the Ukrainian Hvrytishvilli who comes in to finish tough games, with 1 W, 1 L and 2 saves. Solid efficiency despite a 3.52 ERA spoiled by the 3 runs he gave up in 4 innings against Toulouse. It’s a bit more chaotic behind him, with Ogawa stepping in 3 times, Davy also, as well as Brelle, who seems to have taken on the reliever role since Nayral’s arrival. Meurant is also assigned to the bullpen with 3 appearances.

–       Toulouse

6W, 1L, 6 Sv, 5 Hd, 6.68 ERA, .304 BAA, 0.74 K/BB, 10% inhsc, 12 relievers.

When talking about Toulouse’s bullpen, you’re talking about the best reliever of the season, Garcia Delgado, with his 3 W and 6 Sv in 11 appearances. He has been used exclusively at the end of games, except for a few long outings against Rouen (4 innings) and Montigny (5 innings). And if you remove the 3 runs he gave up against the Huskies, his ERA drops to 1.04. Toulouse can also count on the effectiveness of Perez, who has entered the game 7 times, with a total of 11 runners on base, and hasn’t let any of them score. Duquennoy has been used 7 times, often in the middle of the game, with a solid 2-0 record and 2 holds. Toulouse has also called on Garcia-Martinez (3 times), Clairet (5 times).