Rays' Jennings to miss fourth straight game Wednesday

Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Desmond Jennings was omitted from the lineup for a fourth straight game Wednesday against the New York Yankees amid continued soreness in his left knee, reports Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times.

The 28-year-old hasn't played since departing Saturday's game in the eighth inning due to soreness, though Rays manager Kevin Cash expressed optimism earlier this week that Jennings is improving

"I think he's feeling better," Cash told MLB.com's Bill Chastain. "He's a big part of what we're doing, and we need to get him healthy and back in the lineup. We don't want to rush anything right now."

Jennings has struggled through the first month of the new season, hitting just .222/.306/.238 (57 OPS+) with only one extra-base hit in his first 18 games.