© Eric Canha/Imagn
Audio By Carbonatix
Arizona Diamondbacks starters Zac Gallen and Merrill Kelly made some pretty serious allegations against the Cincinnati Reds organization this week, accusing the team of knowingly violating MLB rules about mound height.
Both Gallen and Kelly joined Barstool Sports’ “Pardon My Take,” and when asked which park they least liked to pitch in other than Coors Field in Denver, they immediately cited the Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati.
Diamondbacks pitchers Merrill Kelly and Zac Gallen claimed that the Reds mound at Great American Ballpark is lower and does not meet MLB regulations.
Gallen gave up 3 home runs at GABP on June 8th.pic.twitter.com/CIAI8NWzOM
— Chatterbox Sports (@CBoxSports) July 3, 2025
Diamondbacks Pithchers Kelly And Gallen Claims Cincinnati Reds Use Illegal Mound
“Cincinnati’s tough,” Kelly said immediately. “Cincinnati’s pretty brutal. The ball flies, and I know they’re supposed to have regulations on how high the mound is, but whatever they’re doing, they’re cheating for sure. It’s way lower.”
Gallen then added that the mound in Cincinnati is “so flat.”
“Our mound at home feels like a mountain compared to Cincinnati,” Kelly continued. “You can see it. You can just look at them.”
In Gallen’s last start against the Reds in Cincinnati, he allowed four earned runs in 6.2 innings and took a 4-2 loss.
Current MLB rules state that “The pitcher’s plate must be a 24-inch by 6-inch slab of whitened rubber that is 10 inches above the level of home plate and 60 feet, 6 inches away from the back point of home plate. It is placed 18 inches behind the center of the mound — which is erected within an 18-foot diameter circle — and surrounded by a level area that is 5 feet by 34 inches.
The slope of the pitcher’s mound begins 6 inches in front of the pitcher’s plate and must gradually decrease by 1 inch every foot for 6 feet in the direction of home plate.”
Gallen and Kelly appear to be the first pitchers that have publicly voiced concerns over the mound in Cincinnati. When asked whether it would affect Reds pitchers, too, they suggested Cincinnati may target pitchers who work better on that type of mound. But Cincinnati currently has a 3.82 ERA in home games, which ranks just 17th in the league.
Maybe it’s just a matter of perception from the Arizona duo. But don’t be surprised if something looks a bit different the next time you turn on a Cincinnati Reds game.