Rays' Pepiot nearing return after being hospitalized for a knee infection likely from spider bite

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Ryan Pepiot could return to the rotation late this week after being hospitalized last month for a knee infection that is believed to the result of a spider bite during the All-Star break.

Pepiot was admitted to Columbia University Medical Center in New York and received antibiotics in his right knee after being placed on the 15-day injured list on July 19.

Pepiot had some bug bites while playing golf during the break, but make the trip for a series at the New York Yankees.

The swelling in his knee reached a point where he needed help to walk into the hospital.

"The first couple days, like, when I went into the hospital, it was real bad," Pepiot said before Monday night's game with Houston. “I couldn't put any weight on my right leg. The first few days it was pretty swollen, a lot of fluid, and it was kind of slushy.”

Pepiot said the swelling is down, which allowed him to get back on the mound.

A 26-year-old right-hander, Pepiot is 6-5 with a 3.92 ERA in 17 starts. He was acquired from the Dodgers in December as part of the trade that sent right-hander Tyler Glasnow to Los Angeles.

Pepiot last pitched for the Rays on July 14, throwing six innings of two-hit ball in a 2-0 win over Cleveland. He started for Double-A Montgomery on Saturday, and rejoined the team Sunday to continue working out.

He will be adjusting his golfing attire, forgoing shorts.

“I’ll be wearing pants whenever I, like, do something outside,” Pepiot said. “When I play golf, I get the scenic view of the golf course."

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Tampa Bay Rays pitcher Ryan Pepiot warms up before a baseball game against the Houston Astros Monday, Aug. 12, 2024, in St. Petersburg, Fla. Pepiot has on the injured list with a leg infection. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has reached a tentative $4.2 settlement with a firm that owned and operated a major East Coast refinery that was shuttered after an explosion and fire in 2019.

The deal with Philadelphia Energy Solutions was announced Tuesday. There will now be a 30-day public comment period before the settlement plan can be considered for final court approval. The company does not admit to any liability in the settlement, which the EPA said is the largest amount ever sought for a refinery under a Clean Air Act rule that requires owners and operators to ensure that regulated and other extremely hazardous substances are managed safely.

The EPA found that the company failed to identify and assess hazards posed by a pipe elbow in a hydrofluoric acid alkylation unit at the refinery in Philadelphia. The pipe elbow ruptured due to "extensive" corrosion that had withered the pipe wall to the thickness of a credit card since its installation in 1973.

The explosion and subsequent fire on June 21, 2019, eventually forced the refinery to close after being in operation for 150 years. At the time, it was the largest oil refining complex on the East Coast, processing 335,000 barrels of crude oil daily.

The EPA filed the claim in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware because the company entered bankruptcy shortly after the explosion. The 1,300-acre (526-hectare) site where the refinery had stood was sold in 2020 and is being redeveloped into industrial space and life sciences labs. It remains under a complex cleanup agreement under the oversight of the EPA and Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.

FILE - Flames and smoke rise from the Philadelphia Energy Solutions Refining Complex in Philadelphia, June 21, 2019. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)