The morning line

MLB The marquee game today is the New York Yankees visiting the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field — the Rays are running hot at 54-36 and come in as heavy favorites, so watch whether the Yankees' heart of the order can get into the Tampa starters early or if this turns into another long afternoon for New York's bullpen. The Milwaukee Brewers, the best team in baseball at 58-34, head to Busch Stadium tonight to face the St. Louis Cardinals, a division rivalry where the Cardinals have just enough lineup to make things uncomfortable. On the getaway-day slate, the Atlanta Braves bring a strong rotation into PNC Park against the Pittsburgh Pirates, and the Philadelphia Phillies — favored big at -167 — make the trip to Cincinnati where Great American Ball Park has a way of letting balls leave the yard in a hurry.

WNBA The marquee game tonight is the Las Vegas Aces rolling into Portland to take on the Fire — Vegas is 15-6 and playing like they want to put the whole league on notice, so watch for them to put up buckets in the paint early and make it ugly fast. The late nightcap worth staying up for is the Indiana Fever at the Phoenix Mercury, a virtual pick'em at -1.5 where either squad could easily take the L, and those tight games tend to live or die on who has ice in their veins down the stretch. If you're only watching one game, that Fever-Mercury window is where the drama's going to be.

World Cup The marquee fixture today is Morocco taking on France at Gillette Stadium, a World Cup knockout tie where the Atlas Lions will need a heroic clean sheet to have any hope against a French side installed as heavy favorites at nearly two goals on the money line. Morocco have shown they can frustrate bigger nations and will be hunting any sniff of a through ball on the counter, but France have the quality to punish even the smallest sitter. Tomorrow at SoFi Stadium, Belgium face Spain in another blockbuster elimination match — Spain are favorites but Belgium's golden generation will not go quietly, making it a genuine coin-flip for who finds the net first.