BOSTON -- Steven Wright had the right stuff for the Boston Red Sox on Thursday night.

The right-handed knuckleballer gave up two runs in seven innings, struck out a career-high eight and outdueled Chris Sale as Boston avoided a four-game sweep with a 8-2 win over the Chicago White Sox at Fenway Park.

Chicago had its winning streak snapped at a season-high seven games.

"I knew they were going to come out swinging because they've been swinging the bat really good lately," Wright said. "All I could do is throw quality strikes and get them to hit it."

Wright, facing the White Sox for the first time, snapped a string of three consecutive bad starts for Red Sox pitchers in which Boston gave up 11 first-inning runs.

After serving up a first-inning, two-run homer to Chicago first baseman Jose Abreu, Wright (4-4) buckled down while throwing a season-high 116 pitches. He led Boston (45-58) to its third win in 14 games since the All-Star break.

"He didn't have a real good feel for (the knuckleball) the first couple of innings," Red Sox manager John Farrell said. "Then once he did get the feel for it, the consistency, the violence to the action and the strike-throwing ability improved across the board. It slowed them down."

Designated hitter David Ortiz had three hits and drove in two runs, and shortstop Xander Bogaerts added three singles and a sacrifice fly for the Red Sox. Right fielder Rusney Castillo hit a solo home run in the seventh, his first homer since being called from Triple-A on Monday.

Sale (9-6) was chased after five batters in the sixth inning. The four-time All-Star left-hander surrendered seven runs, 12 hits and a walk and had seven strikeouts.

It was the first time Sale gave up seven or more runs since a nine-run fiasco on April 30.

"It's almost so bad you just forget about it," he said. "This one's going to be forgotten before I even walk out of that door tonight. It's so bad that you just kind of throw it in the garbage, really."

Abreu's home run was his 17th of the season and extended his hitting streak to 10 games. Center fielder Adam Eaton and shortstop Alexi Ramirez each had two hits for Chicago, which was held to fewer than nine runs and a single-digit hit total for the first time in the series.

"They gave us a little bit of our own medicine tonight," White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. "We've had a good run here for three days, and they came out and basically did to us what we did to them."

After scoring twice to take a 3-2 lead in the fifth inning, Boston loaded the bases with no outs in the sixth. Center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. hit an RBI single to center before second baseman Brock Holt drove in two with a single to right, giving the Red Sox a four-run advantage.

Bogaerts drove in Boston's fourth run of the sixth with a sacrifice fly to right, making it 7-2.

Chicago (49-51) kept up the early pressure, scoring its 12th and 13th first-inning runs of the series to take another lead. Abreu homered for the second time in three games, sending a 1-1 pitch into right field stands to put the White Sox up 2-0 after a half-inning.

Ortiz and got a run back in the bottom of the first with a hard-hit, ground-ball double to right. He gave Boston the lead with a two-out single to right in the fifth.

Left fielder Hanley Ramirez fouled a pitch off his left foot during his fifth-inning at-bat, but he toughed it out and hit the tying single to right before Ortiz's go-ahead hit.

After departing Wednesday's game with dehydration, Red Sox third baseman Pablo Sandoval left after the fourth inning Thursday with a left forearm contusion sustained during an inning-ending strikeout.

NOTES: J.B. Shuck started in right field for the White Sox in place of Avisail Garcia, who hit .258 (8-for-31) in the first seven games of Chicago's eight-game road trip. "It's a day to work on some stuff," White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. ... Chicago acquired INF Justin Sellers from the Pittsburgh Pirates for cash or a player to be named. ... RHP Jean Machi was added to Boston's active 25-man roster, and RHP Jonathan Aro was recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket. OF Daniel Nava was designated for assignment, and LHP Tommy Layne was optioned to Triple-A. ... Red Sox C Sandy Leon cleared waivers and was outrighted to Pawtucket.