Nathan Lukes explains how he feels about Toronto Blue Jays' Gatorade bucket tradition

The Toronto Blue Jays have a tradition of pouring cold water on players following a win at Rogers Centre, though last night's post-game celebration took an unusual turn.

Blue Jays outfielder Nathan Lukes hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the fourth inning against Kansas City to put Toronto ahead 3-0 — a score line that held for the rest of the game.

During his post-game interview with Sportsnet's Arden Zwelling, Lukes had a back-and-forth with teammates Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Jesús Sánchez, and Myles Straw, who typically splash Gatorade over the player during the post-game TV hit.

Lukes first kicked over the initial cooler before Straw came back with another one to refill the cooler he had knocked over. Lukes was unable to do anything about the second cooler, and his facial expression made it pretty clear he wasn't amused.

No escaping the post-win splash for Nathan Lukes 😅💦 pic.twitter.com/wWPb2DjTQQ

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) August 27, 2026

Blue Jays fans called the moment "awkward" and "cringeworthy" on social media.

"This is not funny anymore. Read the room. Nathan didn't like it," one fan wrote.

"Extremely awkward. I really wish they would end the Gatorade Shower; it's well past its peak," wrote another.

Toronto Blue Jays reporters got to the bottom of the water-dump gate on Thursday afternoon, asking Lukes to clear the air about what had transpired.

Lukes told the media that he, in fact, has no issue with the team's post-win celebration — he just hates cold water.

"If I was caught in enemy territory, they could take my fingernails or torture me... But if they used cold water, I'd tell them everything," he told reporters.

Nathan Lukes wants to make it clear he’s totally fine with the #BlueJays post-win celebratory water dump. “I just hate cold water”

‘If I was caught in enemy territory, they could take my finger nails or torture me. But if they used cold water I’d tell them everything.’

— Mitch Bannon (@MitchBannon) August 27, 2026

Lukes has been on a tear lately, hitting three home runs in his last six games. He has also been a major part of the Blue Jays' offence over that span, driving in nine of the team's 20 runs.

As things stand, he's tied for third on the team in home runs, ahead of both Sánchez and Guerrero. However, the Blue Jays will need Lukes to continue his hot bat if they want to stay in this tight American League Wild Card race.

Ahead of Thursday's game, the Blue Jays sit three games back of the Cleveland Guardians for the third and final wild card spot with 28 games to play.