Yoshitomo Tsutsugo turned to face the right field stands, took off his hat and bowed toward the fans who were chanting his name.

​It was the type of scene that has played out countless times for the DeNA BayStars veteran throughout his career, which has taken him from Yokohama to MLB and back again.

Tsutsugo is not quite the player he was earlier in his career, but he can still have days like he did on a rainy Saturday afternoon at Yokohama Stadium, when he unfurled a vintage performance that put his team on the brink of advancing to the final stage of the Central League Climax Series.

​The BayStars beat the Yomiuri Giants 6-2 in Game 1 of the first stage, and it was the Tsutsugo show from start to finish.

The DeNA slugger hit a pair of home runs and finished 4-for-4 with three RBIs.

​“Winning the first game is the most important thing since it is the CS,” Tsutsugo said.

​It was fitting that Tsutsugo left his mark all over the first Climax Series game in Yokohama since 2022.

​He became a superstar during his first stint with the club, from 2010 to 2019. He then left to pursue a career in MLB — even playing in the 2020 World Series with the Tampa Bay Rays — but returned to Japan after a couple of tough seasons.

BayStars fans welcomed him back with open arms last season, and he helped Yokohama capture its first Japan Series title since 1998.

​The 33-year-old only batted .228 in 75 regular-season games this year, but he finished on a positive note, with six homers in his final 22 games.

​On Saturday, Tsutsugo, one of the club’s favorite sons, helped the BayStars move one step closer to defending the Japan Series crown.

​He opened the scoring in Game 1 with a solo homer to right — on a slider from Yomiuri starter Iori Yamasaki that was up in the strike zone — to start the second inning.

“As the manager said during yesterday’s news conference, scoring first was important,” Tsutsugo said. “So I’m glad we were able to get the first run.”

​Tatsuo Ebina made the score 2-0 with an RBI single in the third, and Tsutsugo extended the lead with a run-scoring single to right.

​After the Giants pulled within a run on Gakuto Wakabayashi’s two-run homer off Anthony Kay — the only blemish among Kay’s seven strong innings on the mound — in the fourth, Tsutsugo responded in the sixth with a shot deep to left that hit the foul pole to make the score 4-2.

​“Kay had created a good rhythm to the game, and I just rode that and got a hit,” Tsutsugo said.

​The blast was Tsutsugo’s eighth career Climax Series home run, tying him for the most in CL history.

​“I just want to thank everyone around me,” he said.

Tsutsugo’s vintage performance put Yokohama in the driver’s seat heading into Game 2.

​“Tsutsugo gave us momentum,” BayStars manager Daisuke Miura said. “He drove in the first run, and he did well after that.” ​

While Tsutsugo and the BayStars are playing to capture another Japan Series crown, they are also trying to send Miura off on a high note.

​Miura, who has managed the team since 2021, has announced his intention to step down this year.

​ “All the players want him to leave with good memories,” Tsutsugo said.

​ The team will have to get past the Giants in order to keep that hope alive.

​ “Since we’re facing a strong Giants team, we have to prepare and stay focused,” Tsutsugo said,