"The wait is over. Travis Hafner hit his first home run of the spring Thursday in the Indians' 6-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds at Goodyear Ballpark.

In 26 plate appearances, it appeared that Hafner was concentrating his efforts on seeing how many times he could draw a walk. Including Thursday's game, he has walked six times and has five hits, all singles, until his fifth-inning home run to dead center field against the Reds.

Manager Manny Acta has said repeatedly that if Hafner is healthy, he will be a productive hitter in the middle of the lineup.

''He's feeling good,'' Acta said. ''You could tell yesterday when he just missed a ball. He has no restrictions.

''We plan to use him every day. Of course, he'll get some time off and give other guys some at-bats.''

The Indians have beaten the Reds in all four of the teams' meetings, with the Reds scoring two runs in each game. By contrast, the Tribe has rolled out the offense, scoring 27 runs.

Wes Hodges continues to hit the ball hard. On Thursday, he homered and singled, driving in two runs and raising his batting average to .391.

''He's having a tremendous spring,'' Acta said. ''I'm new to the organization, but I'm proud of guys like Hodges, Nick Weglarz and Carlos Rivero, who were only in Double-A last year, but have handled themselves very well in [big-league] camp.''"