By Jason Beck
SportsLine Staff Writer

Don't like pitching duels? Go bowling tonight.

Roger Clemens and Mike Mussina have engaged in an AL East rivalry for a decade. It's just that they've never met in the media fishbowl of New York.

Curt Schilling is high-profile in every start because of where he could pitch next, while Tom Glavine is about as low-profile as a Cy Young winner can get.

Combined, they present the best night of pitching matchups since Opening Day.

Roger Clemens hasn't lost since last May. (AP)

Tonight's Orioles-Yankees series finale (7:30 p.m. ET) would be a marquee matchup regardless of where the teams stood in the standings. The fact that the Orioles and maligned manager Ray Miller desperately need a win simply raises the stakes.

With 16 straight wins dating back to last season, Clemens has a chance to tie the AL record of 17 shared by Johnny Allen and Dave McNally. He has looked simply dominating

Mussina's success is more relative; he has the Orioles' only two wins this season. During spring training he bristled at suggestions he was being overshadowed by Clemens and Pedro Martinez. Now, he's starting to emulate Clemens' Toronto tenure -- a great pitcher carrying an average team.

Glavine and Schilling met on Opening Day in Atlanta, and neither made it through the seventh inning of a 7-4 slugfest. Don't expect the same in their rematch tonight at Veterans Stadium (7:05).

Those short stints won't last long, since they combined for over 490 innings last season. In their only meeting last year, Glavine won out in a 4-2 mid-September duel.

Glavine's struggles continued in his other start this year when he surrendered five earned runs and 10 hits in six innings. Fortunately for his sake, he historically owns the Phillies with a 2.27 ERA and 31 strikeouts in his last six starts against them. By contrast, Schilling has 66 strikeouts in his last six starts against Atlanta.

Valentine's present

At 7-2, the Mets are off to their best start since opening the 1985 season with an 8-1 mark. More importantly, they're leading the NL East like they had hoped. Considering the Mets' schedule following tonight's series finale against the Marlins (7:10), hosting the Expos before a three-game series at struggling Cincinnati, they could be on top for a while.

The danger for manager Bobby Valentine's club entering the season was a slow start that could cost him his job and send the Mets back into turmoil. While the offense has struggled, the pitching staff has posted a 2.45 ERA over the last six games and has surrendered more than three runs in a game only twice this year. Don't expect that to change tonight with the Marlins batting .216 for the season.

White Sox (Snyder, 0-1) at Red Sox (Martinez, 2-0), 6:05 -- Frank Thomas and Ray Durham are a combined 1-for-18 against Boston starter Pedro Martinez.

Rangers (Helling, 0-2) at Mariners (Fassero, 0-2), 6:35 -- Texas goes for its first sweep at Seattle since 1995.

Royals (Barber, 1-0) at Indians (Nagy, 1-0), 7:05 -- Cleveland hasn't won this many in a row since a nine-game streak in 1997.