Brian Falkenborg stepped out of the dugout shadows and into the sunlight at QVC Marine Stadium and said he didn't expect it to be as warm as it was.

He didn't expect to be the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks' closer either, so unseasonably warm weather isn't much of a surprise comparatively speaking.

A shoulder injury to Takahiro Mahara thrust Falkenborg into the ninth-inning role during the spring, and the Newport Beach, California, native is just rolling with the punches.