Padres pitcher Jason Lane hit a home run (twice) in Best Picture nominee 'Boyhood'

If his schedule allows for it Sunday, Padres Minor League pitcher Jason Lane might tune in to the Academy Awards - though it's not because he's much of a film buff.

Lane has a vested interest of sorts in seeing if "Boyhood" takes home the Oscar for Best Picture. All told, the film is nominated for six awards.

"I'll be pulling for it," Lane said Friday.

Lane has a bit (and uncredited) role in the movie, as actor Ethan Hawke takes his son to an Astros game in 2006, one in which Lane -- the former outfielder who has since resurrected his career as a pitcher -- happens to hit a home run.

The details about Lane's home run -- well, home runs as it turns out -- are just as interesting as his cameo.

The camera crew first shot a scene at a game in Houston on Aug. 18, 2005, in which Roger Clemens got the start for the Astros against the Brewers. Lane hit a home run in that game, though that home run went to right field.

The home run that Lane hit in the movie goes to left field, into the Crawford Boxes.

As it turns out, Hawke and the actors attended a game the next spring, also against the Brewers, on April 17. It was during that game where Lane hit a three-run home run in the seventh inning that helped the Astros to an 8-7 victory. That's the home run that's captured in the movie.

"The camera happened to be rolling when I hit the home run," Lane said.

Lane, 38, wasn't aware of his place in the movie until a friend told him about it last summer while he was playing for the Padres' Triple-A affiliate in El Paso.

After the season, he finally got to see the movie.

"I went to a small theater in Sebastopol (Calif.) with my mom and fiancée. … It was fun to watch," Lane said.

"[The home run] seems like it was yesterday. It's been a while now. I still have memories of that game. I don't feel too far removed from that."

Lane, who played for the Astros from 2002-07, still remembers details about the home run off Brewers reliever Matt Wise.

"I had faced him in the past and knew he had a good changeup. In that situation, we were down, I had two strikes on me and I caught it out front and was hoping it would stay fair," he said. "It was a home run late to put us ahead. You don't forget those."

Lane reached the big leagues last summer with the Padres as a pitcher after not having appeared in a Major League game since 2007. Lane's a longshot to make the 25-man roster, but he has obviously bucked big odds before just to get back to the big leagues as a pitcher.

As far as "Boyhood" goes, Lane has gotten a kick out of his place in the film.

"At one point, I talked with [teammate] Cody Decker, who is a big film buff, and he was telling me about the director [Richard Linklater]. I think it would be cool to talk with him at some point," Lane said.

Corey Brock is a reporter for MLB.com. Keep track of @FollowThePadres on Twitter.