(SS) PADRES (5-5-1) 9, INDIANS (4-7-1) 2

HITS: Carlos Santana went 1-for-2 with a double and scored a run, playing well in his first exhibition game at first base. … Third baseman Luis Valbuena hit his team-leading third home run of the spring, a solo shot off Jeremy Hefner in the eighth inning.

MISSES: Left-hander David Huff, a candidate for the fifth spot in the rotation, was scheduled to pitch three innings but lasted only two after allowing four runs on four hits and a walk. He allowed five straight batters (four hits) to reach base to start the fifth inning. … Shin-Soo Choo went 0-for-4 and is hitting .188 (3-for-16) in six games.

ATTENDANCE: 1,937 at Goodyear Ballpark

DIAMONDBACKS (5-9) 16, INDIANS (4-6-1) 5,

Hits: Big time prospect Lonnie Chisenhall continued his red-hot spring with a 4-for-5 performance that included a triple. … Shin-Soo Choo went 2-for-3 and drove in Cleveland’s first two runs.

Misses: Opening day starter Fausto Carmona was lit up for six runs on seven hits over three innings. He allowed back-to-back home runs to Chris Young and Stephen Drew in the second. … Travis Hafner went 1-for-5 and struck out three times.

Pitching problems: The Indians have allowed 32 runs over the last two games.

B film: The Indians beat the Reds 7-6 in a “B” game on a minor league field in Goodyear, Cleveland starter Josh Tomlin tossing three scoreless innings, while allowing two hits and striking out two. … Newly acquired reliever Chad Durbin made his exhibition debut, pitching a scoreless inning and striking out two of the three batters he faced. … Second baseman Jason Kipnis had two hits and two RBIs.

Donald’s down: Third baseman candidate Jason Donald (bruised hand) took infield practice and hit in the cages Tuesday. He is expected to return to the lineup Thursday.

Gaylord’s coming: Indians Hall of Famer Gaylord Perry will be in attendance Friday to sign autographs.

Next up: Today, 3:05, vs. Padres (ss) at Goodyear Ballpark (SportsTime Ohio, no radio). Carlos Carrasco (0-0, 0.00 ERA) makes his exhibition debut after returning to camp following the birth of his daughter, opposing  LHP Corey Luebke (1-0, 2.08).

GOODYEAR, Ariz. — He’s been the biggest story for the Indians this spring and he is all but certain to begin the 2011 season in the minor leagues.

He is Lonnie Chisenhall.

Chisenhall, who has replaced catcher Carlos Santana as Cleveland’s top prospect, has been impressive through eight exhibition games, displaying the sweet stroke that put him on the Indians’ radar shortly after they selected him in the first round (29th overall) of the 2008 draft.

The 21-year-old North Carolina native is hitting .550 (11-for-20) with two doubles, two home runs, a triple and two RBIs after a 4-for-5 performance Tuesday in a 16-5 loss to the Diamondbacks at Goodyear Ballpark.

“He can hit,” said Indians manager Manny Acta. “We like him. We love him. He’s going to be part of our team at some point.”

Offense has rarely been an issue for Chisenhall.

In his only two full seasons in the minor leagues the past two years, Chisenhall has hit no worse than .276, while averaging 17.5 home runs and 81.5 RBIs. He hit .278 in 111 games for Double-A Akron in 2010 with his 84 RBIs leading Cleveland’s minor league system. His homer (17) and run (81) totals ranked third among Indians minor leaguers.

With a bat in his hand, Chisenhall is a big leaguer. It’s when he puts a glove on the hand that he still looks like a player more suited for Triple-A, which is where is expected to being 2011.

In his first professional season in 2008, Chisenhall committed 16 errors in 68 games. He followed that up with a combined 39 errors in 216 games over the past two seasons after relocating from shortstop to third base.

It’s no surprise that Chisenhall is focusing on fielding this spring.

“I’m trying to improve mostly on being a good defender,” he said. “With our pitching staff, they get a ton of ground balls. You need to be a good defender, and I have to keep swinging the bat.”

With Asdrubal Cabrera at shortstop and veteran Orlando Cabrera manning second, Chisenhall’s quickest path to Cleveland is at third base, where the Indians are without a strong candidate to open the season at the position.

The conversion is still a work in progress but Chisenhall thinks he is adapting to his new surroundings adequately.

“I’ve had two full seasons there,” Chisenhall said. “I feel comfortable. Every day I go out there, I feel more comfortable.”

Chisenhall isn’t totally forgetting about offense this exhibition season, as evidenced by his gaudy numbers. And though it is his strong suit, he is far from a finished product at the plate.

“This year I’m working on being more consistent, especially against lefties,” said Chisenhall, who hit just .234 against left-handed pitching last year. “I had a rough time against lefties last year, so I want to have a better approach against them.”

It doesn’t matter how impressive he is this spring, though. Barring an injury, he will start the season in the minors. Acta said Chisenhall is not in camp to compete for a job on the big league level, which was confirmed when Chisenhall met with general manager Chris Antonetti prior to the start of camp.

“Basically that I have stuff to work on,” Chisenhall said, when asked what Antonetti told him. “At some point in the future I’ll be ready to help the team, but I need to go down and define my game so that I can compete on the major league level.

“It’s exciting, knowing that you are part of their plans and they look forward to you being there.”

Tribe fans are already clamoring for Chisenhall’s arrival, but he isn’t getting ahead of himself.

“I’m patient to a point,” Chisenhall said. “You get close to the major leagues and you feel like you should be there, but sometimes you don’t see the small things that other people see.

“I’m not ready to go yet.”

Contact Chris Assenheimer at 329-7136 or cassenheimer@chroniclet.com.

That’s right, it’s paczki time again!

The delicious, delectable pre-Lenten treat has actually been frying up for weeks at bakeries around Lorain County — and especially Kiedrowski’s Simply Delicious Bakery on Cooper-Foster Park Road in Amherst.

Owner Tim Kiedrowski said he and his staff — a mix of employees, friends and family — sold a record 48,000 last year and plan to “at least do that” this year.

He’ll open his doors at 4 a.m. Tuesday and go “till we’re done” Tuesday night. (Last year he was open until 8:30 p.m., he said.)

Paczki — for the lesser informed — are generally enjoyed on Mardis Gras, or the day before Lent. Traditionally, the reason for making pączki was to use up all the lard, sugar, eggs and fruit in the house, because they were forbidden to be consumed due to Catholic fasting practices during Lent, according to Wikipedia.

Kiedrowski’s offers paczki with four filling options — apricot, rose, poppy seed and prune — as well as plain, which Kiedrowski prefers to call “sugared.” They cost 85 cents each, or $10 a dozen.

Kiedrowski calls it “a family and city tradition.”

He rents a truck specifically to bring in all the extra supplies, he said. Among the supplies, 3,800 pounds of flour, 600 pounds of sugar and more than 17 buckets of 40 pounds each of flavoring, he said.

Still, he admits it’s a challenge.

“Logistically, getting them all done at the right time — it’s hard to believe,” he said.

“This is our Super Bowl,” Kiedrowski said.

The chaos at Kiedrowski’s could pay off, however.

What Kiedrowski calls “one big happy day” will include lines to the end of the plaza at points, according to Kiedrowski.

He said he’ll have line runners to bring out orders for anyone who’s called them in, besides taking fresh sugar paczki to anyone waiting, as well as pop, coffee and possibly something stronger if you know the right person.

“That’s the fun of a mom and pop howntown shop,” Kiedrowski said.

Kiedrowski, who said he’s actually been selling paczki since Feb. 14 this year, plans to continue sales through lent. Paczki sales will make up about 25 percent of his profits for the the year, he said.

“People are hungry for tradition,” Kiedrowski said.