The Tampa Bay Rays find themselves just two games back of the Baltimore Orioles for the AL East lead with 15 games left in their regular-season. A postseason berth is all but guaranteed for the Florida-based franchise, but the winner of the division is very much up in the air with just over two weeks left in the 2023 MLB campaign.

The Rays got off to an incredible start to the year, winning 13 straight games and not dropping a series until the middle of April. And the team has been great since, accumulating a 90-57 record on the year. Although it looked like Tampa Bay would run away with the division early, there's a reason the MLB campaign is 162 days long, and the O's have had themselves a terrific campaign.

Fans of both squads will be gearing up for the biggest series of the year when the Rays travel to Camden Yards for a four-game set beginning on Thursday night in Maryland. The results of the weekend contests could end up determining which team will take home the 2023 AL East crown. The Orioles are hungry for a title after their last division win came almost a decade ago in 2014.

For the Rays, they are only two seasons removed from back-to-back AL East championships in 2020 and 2021. The former preceded a scintillating playoff run and eventual six-game World Series loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers. If the team hopes to get back to its former glory, both in terms of winning the division and competing for a championship, Randy Arozarena is one player who needs to step up.

Randy Arozarena must elevate game for Rays

Randy Arozarena was electric for the Rays to start the 2023 season, and fans will not soon forget his 2020 postseason heroics. He hit a two-run homer in Game 7 of the ALCS against the Houston Astros, winning the series' MVP award and surpassing Evan Longoria for most home runs by a rookie in the postseason.

But he wasn't done there, smacking three home runs in the World Series to break the all-time record for most home runs in a single postseason. He followed it up with another record, breaking Pablo Sandoval's record for most hits in a single postseason in Game 5. Arozarena's postseason heroics earned him the AL Rookie of the Year award in 2021, and he's been a key piece of the offense since.

But the last two months of the 2023 campaign have been a different story for the speedy outfielder. After staggering into the All-Star break, he struggled in the rest of July, hitting just .127 with one home run and a .446 OPS over 15 games. But was able to pick up his game in August:

“[Arozarena] showed some signs of getting hot during a 21-game stretch in August, though still without much power (three homers, four doubles),” wrote the Tampa Bay Times' Marc Topkin last week. “He hit .304 with an .897 OPS, helped by a .429 on-base percentage, as his walks were up.”

Although August was a standout month for the 28-year-old, Arozarena came back down to earth in September. He hit just .167 with a .519 OPS in the first eight games, and has only improved that to .217 halfway through the month. His three RBI and four runs scored is also concerning. But he hit a home run in Wednesday's 5-4 win over the Minnesota Twins, his first homer since Aug. 29, and has hit safely in three straight.

The Orioles and Rays are going to give fans a frantic race to the finish for the AL East crown. If it is going to go the way of Tampa Bay, Randy Arozarena can have the most impact for his team down the stretch, and the play of the superstar will be a crucial factor in determining who earns the first-round playoff bye.