Instead theres optimism that British performances in Rio could even push their greatest ever

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- Lyle Overbay made the biggest in a series of big plays Saturday that showed why the New York Yankees are on top in the AL East. Overbay homered with two outs in the 11th inning, and the Yankees rallied late to beat the Tampa Bay Rays 4-3 on Saturday. "Hes a big reason why we are where were at," said New York manager Joe Girardi of Overbay, who is filling in for the injured Mark Teixeira. "Its a big home run. Its a big win." Overbay drilled a 1-0 pitch from Josh Lueke (0-2) into the right field seats to give New York the lead. "Id been missing fastballs all day, and it was good just to get on top of one," Overbay said. "Exciting to do that." Ivan Nova (2-1), who made his first relief appearance after returning from a right triceps injury and being moved from the Yankees rotation to the bullpen, struck out James Loney and got an inning-ending grounder from Matt Joyce with the bases loaded in the 10th. "Ive got to take advantage of every opportunity," Nova said. Mariano Rivera pitched a perfect 11th inning for his 18th straight save to start the season. The right-hander tied Dennis Eckersley for fourth place for games pitched with 1,071. He had been tied with Hoyt Wilhelm, who coached Rivera in the minors. "I think thats why we appreciate him so much because of his consistency year in and year out," Girardi said. The Yankees scored twice in the ninth against struggling Tampa Bay closer Fernando Rodney to pull even at 3. With two outs, Overbay walked, went to second on a balk, and scored on Brennan Boeschs pinch-hit RBI double. Brett Gardner then added a run-scoring single. Gardner was caught attempting to steal second with Robinson Cano batting. "When we tied it, youve got to feel good about your chances," Gardner said. "The momentum is on our side, but were still playing on the road and theyve got the last shot at it. Another outstanding pitching performance today, and we were able to steal one." Rodney is just 9 for 14 in save chances this year after converting 48 of 50 opportunities last season. "This has been really awkward to watch," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "Hes been within one pitch of almost being perfect this season. Three of the blown saves have come down to the last pitch. Ive not lost any patience with it. As long as he doesnt lose confidence in himself, I will not lose confidence in him." Tampa Bay appeared poised to win it in the bottom of the ninth, but Ichiro Suzuki made a sliding catch in right field on Yunel Escobars liner with a runner on second. "Amazing," Girardi said. "I heard some people in the stands, say There it is. They thought the game was over. Theres so many big things that happened in this game to give us an opportunity to win that game." Rays starter Matt Moore, looking to start the season 9-0, got a no-decision despite allowing one run and five hits in six innings. In his other start against New York this season, the left-hander gave up one run and two hits over eight innings on April 22 in a 5-1 victory. Yankees rookie Vidal Nuno allowed two runs and five hits over six-plus innings. The left-hander, making his second start and fourth appearance, has given up three runs in 14 innings overall. Loney singled off Nuno to start the seventh and went to third when Joyce had a pinch-hit double against Shawn Kelley. Kelly Johnson then put Tampa Bay up 2-1 on a single off Boone Logan. The Rays advantage grew to 3-1 when Joyce slid home safely under catcher Austin Romines tag attempt after Escobar hit a grounder to shortstop Jayson Nix. Johnson has driven in 18 runs over his 20 games this month. The Yankees took a 1-0 lead in the first when Gardner had a leadoff double and scored on a two-out single by Travis Hafner. Tampa Bay tied it at 1 on Desmond Jennings two-out RBI double during the fifth. NOTES: The Yankees are 2-17 when trailing after eight innings. ... Tampa Bay Buccaneers Pro Bowl defensive tackle Gerald McCoy was scheduled to throw the ceremonial first pitch, but was delayed getting to the ballpark due to a minor vehicle accident in which no one was injured. ... Nix was spiked and cut near the right wrist on a seventh-inning pickoff play. He remained in the game and stole second on the next pitch. ... The Yankees put OF Curtis Granderson on the 15-day disabled list with a broken knuckle on his left pinkie and recalled Boesch from Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Custom Dodgers T-shirts . Ivanovic was leading 7-5, 1-0 when Hantuchova withdrew after falling 0-40 behind in the second game. The match started slowly for Ivanovic, who surrendered her first two serves as Hantuchova took a 5-3 lead. Babe Herman Jersey Large . LOUIS -- St. http://www.customdodgersjersey.com/ . Toronto has dropped games to Indiana and Miami since a five-game winning streak and closed out a three-game road trip at 1-2. Wholesale Custom Dodgers Shirts . The 25-year-old Japanese star has officially been posted by his club team, the Rakuten Golden Eagles. Custom Dodgers Jerseys . -- Lou Brocks shoulder-to-shoulder collision with Bill Freehan during the 1968 World Series and Pete Roses bruising hit on Ray Fosse in the 1970 All-Star game could become relics of baseball history, like the dead-ball era.Ben Ransom gets a behind-the-scenes look at the facilities that the British Olympic Association hope will be the launch-pad to another record-breaking medal haul. Be prepared or prepare to fail.Its an old cliché but its one that Team GB are living by as they get ready for Rio 2016. The plans are certainly impressive, with the British Olympic Association (BOA) putting more money than ever before into the preparation for an overseas Games. £1.6m of lottery funding has been set aside by UK Sport to fund the biggest pre-Games training camp a British team has ever had. In fact they believe its the biggest and most extensive training camp of any of the other nations competing in Rio. Lofty ambitions indeed.Two weeks before the opening ceremony, British athletes will begin boarding flights to Brazil, but having landed at the host city of Rio de Janeiro theyll jump straight onto another plane and fly 45 minutes north into the mountains. Belo Horizonte is a city that conjures up painful sporting memories for those who follow England, and in particular English football. Not only was it the scene of one of their most humiliating ever World Cup results in 1950 when they were beaten by a team of amateurs from the USA, the return 64 years later saw Roy Hodgsons England crash out of the 2014 competition after a lacklustre goalless draw with Costa Rica.Thankfully its a unified British team that will be touching down later this summer and when they arrive theyll be greeted by the best training facilities found anywhere in Brazil. The athletics track has the exact same surface as the Olympic Stadium in Rio, while Belo Horizonte is also home to Brazils only other indoor 50-metre swimming pool to meet international standards. Team GB will have access to a 50-metre swimming pool, one of only two pools to meet the international standard in Brazil Each and every competing sport will enjoy a similar level of meticulous preparation, with a fleet of shipping containers crossing the Atlantic right now bringing with them everything from canoe slalom start gates to full-size Olympic boxing rings. Even the hotel rooms here will get the Team GB treatment to make sure athletes feel right at home - with patriotic posters and Union Flag cushions on the sofas.Paul Ford is the Head of pre-Games training and explained to Sky Sports News HQ why theyre going to all of the trouble.Technical training is the first most important thing and after that were then looking at how we can best acclimatise, Ford said.Were only 45 minutes flight away from Rio so its got exactly the same climate, which allows the athletes to go through the process of that four-hour time zone shift and get used to being inside Brazil before they go into the village and do their competition.The other key part of it is bringing together Team GB because they might come here as British Judo or the British fencing team, but they leave here as part of Team GB ready to take on the world. The running track Team GBs athletes will train on at Belo Horizonte will be the exact same surface found at the Olympic Stadium in Rio In 2010 the BOA wouldve been forgiven for putting everything into making sure London 2012 lived up to all the hype.dddddddddddd However, in addition to focusing on their own backyard, a delegation was also more than 5,000 miles away visiting the training venues here in Belo Horizonte. To put it into some perspective, recent media reports in Brazil questioned why the home nation had not secured the facilities in Belo instead to give themselves the best chance of success this summer.Brazils loss is Britains gain and rather than looking at it as an expensive gamble, Team GB are confident the investment of time and money will pave the way for their most successful ever overseas Games. To do that they have to get a total of 48 medals, one more than they achieved in Beijing 2008. But having spent three days travelling around with the BOA delegation theres no sense of settling for that figure. Instead theres optimism that British performances in Rio could even push their greatest ever Olympic medal haul - when Team GB landed a total of 65 medals, including 29 golds in London. Sky Sports Orla Chennaoui brings us the latest news from Belo Horizonte where Team GB will soon begin their preparations for this summers Olympic Games As was the case in the build-up to London 2012 there are also negative headlines. Brazil is a country facing huge political and social problems, as well as a battle with the well-publicised Zika virus. Team GB want to leave their own human legacy in their home from home. Much of the training equipment being brought out and paid for by UK Sport will then be donated to local sports clubs in Belo Horizonte. And who knows, it might even be the small act of trans-Atlantic kindness that allows a young Brazilian athlete to fulfil their dream of going for gold in Tokyo 2020.That truly would be a legacy of Olympic proportions. Also See: Schedule/Results Ones to Watch Photos Athletics Video ' ' '