Editor's note: until our watch picks model ships, only the marquee game carries a Vegas line. The rest of the slate is a viewing guide, not a betting card. Every game below links to its live tile on watch.uristocrat.com.
This is a World Cup day, and the biggest game on the calendar kicks off in the afternoon. Spain host Belgium in a quarterfinal at SoFi Stadium, then a full Friday of baseball takes over the night, with 15 MLB games and three in the WNBA. Here is what to watch.
World Cup marquee: Spain vs Belgium, quarterfinal at SoFi Stadium (3pm ET, FOX / Telemundo)
Spain arrive as the reigning European champions and the tidiest team left in the bracket. They beat Portugal 1-0 to reach the last eight and have not conceded a goal all tournament, so Belgium's job is simple to state and hard to do: find a way through a defense nobody else has cracked. Belgium's golden generation is running out of tournaments to prove it can win one, and a quarterfinal against the favorite is exactly the kind of game that has ended their runs before. Spain will keep the ball. Belgium will need to make the few chances they get count.
Vegas line: Spain -160, Belgium +450, draw +295. Total 2.5 goals (over -130, under +105), per ESPN's odds page (DraftKings).
Also today
- Milwaukee Brewers at Pittsburgh Pirates (6:40pm ET). The Brewers own the best record in baseball at 59-34 and open a series that pays off Sunday with Paul Skenes against Jacob Misiorowski. The Pirates sit at .500 and mostly play for those Skenes starts.
- Seattle Mariners at Tampa Bay Rays (7:10pm ET, ESPN). Tampa Bay has quietly built a 54-37 record and leads the AL East. Seattle is stuck at .500 and needs series like this one to climb back into the wild card race.
- Chicago Cubs at Cincinnati Reds (7:10pm ET). The Cubs are 52-41 and chasing Milwaukee in the NL Central. The Reds have faded to 42-50 and are running out of runway to make it a race.
- Boston Red Sox at New York Mets (7:15pm ET, Apple TV+). A Friday night national window that has lost some shine. The Mets have collapsed to 40-54 after a strong start, and Boston at 43-48 is trying not to join them.
- Atlanta Braves at St. Louis Cardinals (8:15pm ET, Apple TV+). The Braves are 54-38 and look like a team that will be playing in October. St. Louis is right at the wild card cut line and can use a statement series at home.
- Arizona Diamondbacks at Los Angeles Dodgers (10:10pm ET). The nightcap. The Dodgers are 61-33, the best record in the National League, and Arizona at .500 has been chasing them all year. Worth staying up for if the World Cup left you wanting more.
- Golden State Valkyries at Connecticut Sun (7:30pm ET, ION). The expansion Valkyries have been the story of the WNBA season at 16-7. Connecticut is 5-17 and rebuilding, so this is a chance for Golden State to keep the surprise going.
- Dallas Wings at Toronto Tempo (7:30pm ET, ION). The WNBA heads to Canada, with the expansion Tempo hosting at Montreal's Bell Centre. Dallas is 14-8 and the tougher team on paper, but the crowd will be all Tempo.
The rhythm of the day is unusual. The game that matters most is done by dinner, and then baseball carries the evening from Pittsburgh out to Los Angeles. If you only have room for two, take the quarterfinal at SoFi and the Dodgers under the lights.
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