BASEBALL DAILY REPORT : AROUND THE MAJOR LEAGUES : Viola, Mets Fail to Agree on Contract

When Frank Viola came to the New York Mets from the Minnesota Twins, he said he satisfied a dream of pitching for a team in his hometown. The dream a reality, Viola says he is heading for free agency after failing to agree with the Mets on a contract extension.

Viola, 20-12 in 1990, is looking for a deal similar to the three-year contract for $15.45 million the Mets gave Dwight Gooden. The Mets have offered Viola $13 million for three years, up from their last offer of $12.5 million.

Pittsburgh Pirate center fielder Andy Van Slyke signed a three-year contract extension worth $12.65 million, making him the fourth-highest paid player in the major leagues. Under the extension, Van Slyke will get $4 million next year, $4.6 million in 1993 and $3.3 million in 1994, plus a $750,000 signing bonus.

X-rays taken of Will Clark’s sprained ankle were negative, but the San Francisco Giant first baseman was held out of an exhibition against the Oakland Athletics as a precautionary measure.

In exhibitions, Scott Garrelts pitched four hitless innings before leaving in the fifth as the Giants beat Oakland, 2-0. . . . Jay Bell and Carmelo Martinez hit home runs as Pittsburgh beat Detroit, 5-1. . . . Dale Murphy, Lenny Dykstra and Von Hayes homered as Philadelphia beat Houston in 11 innings, 8-7. . . . Danny Darwin allowed three hits and one run in six innings as Boston beat Baltimore, 4-1, before 37,458 at Washington. . . . Bernard Gilkey and Pedro Guerrero singled in fifth-inning runs that gave the St. Louis Cardinals a 2-1 victory over Atlanta. . . . The New York Mets beat Toronto, 3-2, on 10th-inning errors by the Blue Jays’ Kelly Gruber and Roberto Alomar. . . . Robin Yount singled home two runs in the ninth inning, leading Milwaukee over Chicago, 3-2. . . . Herm Winningham singled home the winning run in the 10th inning as Cincinnati beat Cleveland, 4-3.