The morning line

MLB The marquee matchup tonight is the Atlanta Braves rolling into Fenway Park to face the Boston Red Sox — the Braves are the hottest team in baseball at 36-18 and the Red Sox bullpen has been leaky enough that this one could get out of hand early. Keep an eye on the Houston Astros at Texas Rangers in a classic I-10 Series showdown; both clubs are treading water under .500 and need a series win badly to stay relevant in the AL West. Already in progress, the Washington Nationals are lighting up the Cleveland Guardians 7-1 through three innings at Progressive Field, which is a genuine gut-punch for Cleveland's rotation given the Guardians came in as the best team in the AL at 32-23.

NBA Tonight's opener has the New York Knicks heading to Rocket Arena to take on the Cleveland Cavaliers in a game that's basically a coin flip — Knicks are only 2.5-point favorites with the over/under at 218.5, so both squads are going to be putting up buckets all night. Tomorrow's headliner is the one to circle: the San Antonio Spurs roll into Paycom Center to face the Oklahoma City Thunder, who went a ridiculous 64-18 this season and are laying five and a half at home, but a 62-20 Spurs team has ice in their veins and nobody goes 62-and-20 just to take the L on the road. Two 60-win teams going at each other is an absolute clinic waiting to happen — somebody's going home looking bad, and the over/under at 215.5 suggests it won't be a track meet either.

NHL The marquee matchup tonight is the Carolina Hurricanes skating into Bell Centre to face the Montreal Canadiens, with the Hurricanes coming in as heavy favorites at -155 — Carolina has been one of the stingiest teams in the league all season and their penalty kill makes life miserable for any opponent trying to set up in the slot. Tomorrow night, the Colorado Avalanche — the best team in hockey at 55-16-11 — head to T-Mobile Arena to take on the Vegas Golden Knights in what could be a high-event game with an over/under set at 6.5, so expect both goaltenders to be tested early and often from the crease out. The Avalanche are slight favorites, but Vegas has a way of making things uncomfortable in that building, especially if they can get their power play humming.

WNBA The marquee matchup tonight is the New York Liberty hosting the Portland Fire at Barclays Center — two evenly matched squads both sitting at 3-3, so every game matters if either wants to separate from the pack. The Liberty are heavy favorites at -10.5, meaning Vegas expects them to eat the Fire up, but a ten-point spread in the WNBA is a lot to cover. Late night, the Golden State Valkyries welcome a struggling Connecticut Sun team to Chase Center — the Sun are 1-6 and looking like they can't buy a bucket right now, so watch to see if the Valkyries just put on an absolute clinic.