The morning line

MLB The marquee matchup to watch tonight is the Atlanta Braves visiting Fenway Park to take on the Boston Red Sox — the Braves are running hot at 37-18, one of the best records in baseball, so the heart of their order figures to make life miserable for whatever Boston sends to the mound. Over in Baltimore, the Tampa Bay Rays came in as the other elite club in this slate (34-18) but the Orioles' bullpen or starter apparently got into their stuff early, as Baltimore is already up 5-0 in the first. The nightcap to keep an eye on is the New York Yankees heading to Kauffman Stadium to face the Kansas City Royals — the Yankees are heavy favorites at -157, and with both clubs sitting near .500 territory on opposite sides, a walk-off either way would make for a great getaway-day story.

NBA The only game on the board tonight is a heavyweight showdown as the Oklahoma City Thunder roll into Frost Bank Center to take on the San Antonio Spurs — two of the best records in the league going at it, with the Spurs sitting at 62-20 and holding home-court as 3.5-point favorites against a Thunder squad that's been putting on an absolute clinic all season at 64-18. With an over/under of 219.5, expect both teams to get buckets in bunches, and whoever controls the paint is probably taking this one home. On NBC and Peacock at 8:30 PM Eastern — don't sleep on this.

NHL Tonight's marquee matchup puts the Carolina Hurricanes on the road at the Bell Centre to take on the Montreal Canadiens, and it's the kind of game where puck possession and the power play will decide everything. Carolina comes in as heavy favorites riding a dominant 53-22-7 record, and their penalty kill has been airtight all season, so Montreal will need to stay disciplined and find ways to create traffic in the crease if they want to steal one at home. With an over/under sitting at 5.5, don't expect a track meet — this one figures to be a grinding, physical affair that could easily come down to a top-shelf snipe in overtime.

WNBA The marquee game on today's WNBA slate is the Atlanta Dream heading into Target Center to take on the Minnesota Lynx — the Dream come in at 4-1 and are actually favored by 2.5 on the road, so watch for them to try to put on a clinic against a Lynx squad that's been solid at 4-2. Earlier in the evening, the New York Liberty are already in it against the Phoenix Mercury at Barclays Center, and with Phoenix sitting at 2-5 they need buckets in the worst way or they're taking another ugly L. The late nightcap to keep an eye on is Washington Mystics at Seattle Storm — the Mystics are laying 3.5 on the road, which means someone thinks they've got the paint advantage, and with both teams hovering around .500 this one could go down to a dagger in the fourth.