The Los Angeles Dodgers’ High-A affiliate Great Lakes Loons fell to the Dayton Dragons in the rubber match of a three-game series on Thursday, but top catching prospect Diego Cartaya enjoyed another highlight-worthy night at the plate.
He went 1-for-4 with a solo home run and reached base an additional time via walk. Cartaya extended his hitting streak to five games and homered in a third consecutive matchup against the Dragons.
Cartaya’s solo blast off Vin Timpanelli in the bottom of the seventh pulled the Loons to within two runs, and the moment was captured by none other than actor Jon Gries, who provided guest commentary.
Gries famously played Uncle Rico in the 2004 comedy “Napoleon Dynamite” and paid homage to the character by saying Cartaya hit the ball “over those mountains.”
"I'll tell ya, that was over those mountains"
Uncle Rico approves of Diego Cartaya's homer 🤣🤣🤣@greatlakesloons | @Dodgers pic.twitter.com/mAA0kkm3MC
— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) July 1, 2022
The line is in reference to Uncle Rico talking to Kip about his throwing skills and betting him that he could throw a football “over those mountains.”
Gries was in attendance for the game because the Loons were holding Uncle Rico Night at Dow Diamond. In addition to calling Cartaya’s home run, Gries threw out the first pitch and greeted fans.
Cartaya learned to navigate ‘ups and downs’ at alternate training site
Despite not being able to play in 2020 due to the Minor League Baseball season getting canceled, Cartaya had an opportunity to continue his development while participating in the Dodgers’ alternate training site at USC.
The 20-year-old credited some of the organization’s older prospects for helping him learn how to deal with adversity.
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