Desperate Blue Jays Get Viola From Minors

Frank Viola, who has made only three major league appearances since May 1994, was brought up from the minors by the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday.

Viola, 36, had elbow surgery May 17, 1994, to repair a partially torn ligament in his left elbow. The 1988 AL Cy Young Award winner was 0-1 with a 6.28 earned-run average in three games with Cincinnati last year and was 0-0 with a 1.64 ERA in four starts this season with the double-A Knoxville Smokies.

“We need him up here to stop the bleeding,” Blue Jay Manager Cito Gaston said. “The reports we are getting on him are good. Why not let Viola pitch and see what he can do?”

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After giving up 35 runs in their last two games, the Detroit Tigers tried to bolster their beleaguered pitching staff by obtaining former all-star reliever Gregg Olson from Cincinnati.

The Tigers sent minor league infielder Yuri Sanchez to the Reds in exchange for Olson. He joins a Tiger team that began Friday’s play with eight losses in a row and a major league-worst 7.46 ERA.

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The trial of baseball owners on unfair labor practices has been postponed for the 11th time.

The trial, scheduled to start Monday, was postponed to June 17, according to Joel Biblowitz, associate chief administrative law judge of the National Labor Relations Board.

Until the trial is completed, owners remain under a federal injunction that forces them to maintain the rules of the collective bargaining agreement that expired in December 1993.