TORONTO -- Jonathan Papelbon notched the save Sunday by closing out the Red Sox' 3-0 win over Toronto, and in doing so joined an exclusive club.

Papelbon's save was his 40th this season, making him just the fifth Red Sox reliever to reach that number. The others: Tom Gordon (46 in 1998), Derek Lowe (42 in 2000; Ugueth Urbina (40 in 2002) and Jeff Reardon (40 in 1991).

He ranks third in the American League, behind Francisco Rodriguez (60) of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and Joakim Soria (41) of the Kansas City Royals.

``It's nice, because it's more or less a standard we've gone by for closers in this league,'' said Papelbon. ``You obviously want to get there and be in that company.''

At the same time, Papelbon is focused more on what the team is doing than his own individual performance.

``Personal goals are great, and to reach a career high is nice,'' he said. ``But what we do as a team is most important.''

Papelbon added that to be considered one of the game's elite closers, he has to perform at this level on a regular basis.

``It all boils down to consistency,'' said Papelbon. ``I don't want to be one of those guys who has 40 one year, then 20 the next. I want to be consistent, year after year.''

For the season, Papelbon is 40 for 45 and has converted 19 of his last 20 save opportunities.

Indians at Fenway for first time in 2008

The Sox will face three lefty starters in the next four days, with the Indians expected to pitch Zach Jackson on Monday, Cy Young Award candidate Cliff Lee on Tuesday and Jeremy Sowers in the series finale Thursday night.

The Sox haven't hosted Cleveland at Fenway since beating them in Game 7 of the ALCS last October. The two teams haven't met anywhere since the Sox swept a two-game series in Cleveland in April.

The Indians come into the series hot, having won six in a row. They have a chance to finish at .500 or better after languishing bear the AL Central basement for the first four months.

Around the bases

For the second year in a row, the Sox and the Blue Jays split the season series. The Sox were 9-9 against Toronto this season despite hitting just .224 against the Blue Jays. Three of the Sox' nine wins were shutouts … Hideki Okajima pitched a perfect eighth inning and now has 15 strikeouts in his last 13 2/3 innings. He's allowed just two runs over his last 12 outings.