-- riding Vucevics 17 points and 10 rebounds -

ATLANTA - Right-hander Gavin Floyd was activated from the disabled list on Sunday and will start on Tuesday against St. Louis as a replacement for Ervin Santana, who has swelling below his right thumb. Santana, a right-hander, said he jammed the thumb on an inside pitch from Cincinnatis Homer Bailey on April 25. He said the thumb felt fine after that game. He said he had swelling on his hand below the thumb in his last start against the Marlins on Wednesday. Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez said Santana is expected to miss only one start. Gonzalez said he tentatively expects Santana to start on Saturday against the Cubs. Santana said the swelling is improving each day. He said hes never had a similar injury. "No, this is my first time hitting," he said with a smile. Santana played in the American League with the Angels and Kansas City before signing a one-year deal with the Braves. Santana, 3-0 with a 2.41 ERA, had a light wrap on his right hand on Sunday. The Braves optioned left-handed reliever Ian Thomas to Triple-A Gwinnett, clearing a roster spot for Floyd. Santanas injury temporarily clears a spot for Floyd in the rotation. When Santana returns, Gonzalez faces another difficult decision only days after moving David Hale to the bullpen to clear a rotation spot for left-hander Mike Minor. "We always talk about how it will take care of itself," Gonzalez said. "It will take care of itself for a week, and then well make a decision. Were not going to go with a six-man rotation." Floyd signed a one-year, $4 million deal with the Braves in December after his 2013 season with the White Sox was shorted by an elbow injury. He had surgery last May to repair the ulnar collateral ligament and a torn flexor muscle in his right elbow. At the time of the surgery, there were projections that Floyds rehabilitation would last longer than a year. "I just went out and did all the work I had to do and did all the things I could," Floyd said. "A year later, Im active and healthy and real happy about that. "Im excited about pitching and excited to get out there Tuesday and after that what happens will be dealt with." The rotation includes Santana, Minor, Julio Teheran, Alex Wood and Aaron Harang. Gonzalez said this week he doesnt want to move Wood, a left-hander, to the bullpen — at least not immediately. Gonzalez kept that option open for later in the season as the team might need to limit Woods innings. Harang had the NLs best ERA before giving up nine runs in a loss to the Marlins in his last start. Floyd, 31, has a 70-70 career record with Philadelphia and the White Sox. His best season came in 2008, when he was 17-8 with a 3.84 ERA with Chicago. He hasnt won more than 12 games or had an ERA under 4.00 since 2008. Thomas was 1-1 with a 4.26 ERA in 10 games. Gonzalez said he wants Floyd to work as a starter at Gwinnett so he can develop his slider. "Its hard to work on your secondary pitches when its second and third and youre facing Bryce Harper," Gonzalez said, referring to the typical situation Thomas faces as a reliever in the major leagues. The move leaves Luis Avilan as the Braves only left-handed reliever. Avilan is 3-1 with a 7.04 ERA. Andrew Wiggins Jersey . He wants to seize that opportunity. The trouble is, Firus has had more bumps on the road to Sochi than most. Last year, Firus had the skate of a lifetime in the short program at the Canadian championships when he landed his first triple Axel in competition and finished third in a stacked field. Cheap NBA Jerseys .Kessy tried to show what he can do playing left wing for the Oilers in 5-0 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday in pre-season action. http://www.cheaptimberwolvesjerseys.com/?tag=cheap-keita-bates-diop-jersey . Pospisil, the seventh seed, saved match points in each of the last two sets before falling to the unseeded Dutchman. "I wasnt very happy with the way I was playing,"said Pospisil. Josh Okogie Jersey . A strong fastball. A big, bending curveball that can buckle hitters at the knees. Against the Detroit Tigers on Sunday, Elias put the entire package together against one of the leagues strongest lineups. Justin Patton Jersey .A. Happ is coming off his first start of the year, a win at Philadelphia Monday. The former Phillie allowed three hits in five scoreless frames of a 3-0 triumph.ORLANDO, Fla. -- One thing has remained consistent about Magic coach Jacque Vaughn whenever he is asked how he gauges improvement for his team. Its day to day and game by game, he says. Well, he can count Wednesday as one of the good days. Nik Vucevic had 21 points and 16 rebounds as the Orlando Magic beat the Philadelphia 76ers 105-94 to post back-to-back wins for the first time since early this month. "We needed it," Vaughn said. "We were all over the place...Just a lot of guys who were getting into the game who were ready to play and were playing unselfishly on both ends. "We need guys and were gonna continue to need guys throughout the course of the year," he said. Glen Davis added 19 points, and Arron Afflalo and Victor Oladipo each finished with 18. The Magic led by 15 points before fighting off several second-half surges by the Sixers, which they beat for 17th time in 20 meetings. The game was the first meeting between rookies Michael Carter-Williams and Oladipo, and both played big roles. Oladipo registered a season-high 42 minutes. Though both had their highlights, it was how Orlando played together down the stretch that stuck out more. The Magic saw their double-digit, first-half lead dwindled down to a point early in the third quarter. It was 85-83 when Afflalos three-point play gave Orlando a little breathing room with 6:49 to play in the game. The 76ers kept coming before Afflalo struck again and turned a Philadelphia turnover into a layup that made it 93-87. That was followed a few possessions later by a 3-pointer by Oladipo that put the Magic up 98-89 with three minutes remaining and ended the threat. "We had a pretty impressive win (Tuesday) night (at Atlanta)," Afflalo said. "We hadnt had the best track record of backing up good victories with solid, back-to-back victories on back-to-back nights. It got a little ugly there in the second and third quarters, but we showed a little mental toughness and got us a good victory." Thaddeus Young led Philadelphia with 26 points and Carter-Williams added 23. It was Youngs first game in a week after missing three games while dealing with a death in his family. "They did a good job tonight of keeping the lead," Young said. "Once they got it, wed make a run to take the lead and they would (answer with) five or six points. They just kept their foot on the ggas and kept moving.dddddddddddd" 76ers coach Brett Brown said the plan going forward was to ease him back into things slowly following his absence. Young didnt start, but entered the game for the first time at the 7:42 mark of the first quarter and immediately started to make an impact. "I didnt want to start him; I didnt know how long I was going to play him," Brown said. "You just go by gut feeling and judgment, and it was clear right from the get-go that he had bounce, he had energy, he wanted to play. He was good. So he ended up with (29) minutes, which I would not have guessed at the start of the game." The 76ers have now lost two straight and six of seven. Despite the victory, the Magic continued to deal with the injuries on Wednesday. Point guard Jameer Nelson left the game in the second quarter and did not return after limping off with a sprained left foot. Also, after making his season debut Sunday against Phoenix, Magic forward Tobias Harris sat out his second straight game with soreness in his left ankle. Harris was supposed to make his first start of the season against Atlanta Tuesday night, but was scratched just before tip-off. The ankle has now kept him out of 14 of the Magics 15 games this season. It was 55-50 at halftime as the Magic -- riding Vucevics 17 points and 10 rebounds -- dominated the first 21 minutes of the first half and built a 15-point lead. He went right at Philadelphias Daniel Orton, and hit his first eight shots of the night. It nearly evaporated in the final three minutes of the half, though, as the Sixers closed with a 10-0 run that included eight points by Young. Vucevic said he hopes the win will help the Magic to begin to play with a lot more consistency. "We made improvements, but weve still got a ways to go," he said. "We cant have streaks when we lose four or five games in a row. Its hard to make up for those. So we gotta try to be more consistent. We cant win every game ... but we gotta try to play the way we played the last two games." NOTES: Referee Tre Maddox left the game in the first quarter with an ankle injury. ... Davis made his second start of the season and appeared in his fourth game of the year since missing the first 11 games of the season with a broken bone in his left foot. ... Sixers F Spencer Hawes missed his second straight game with soreness in his left knee. ' ' '