(My Sportsbook) - Life without Sammy Sosa might not be as bad as people would have thought, especially since the Chicago Cubs can count on players like Corey Patterson to pick up the slack.

On Tuesday the Cubs, leaders in the National League Central by a game and a half over the Houston Astros, picked up a 7-2 win over the Milwaukee Brewers in the second of four games to be played at Miller Park.

The win was the third straight for the Cubs, who will be without Sosa for about two weeks since he was placed on the 15-day disabled list on May 10 after having the toenail removed from his right big toe.

Hee Seop Choi hit a two-run homer and Shawn Estes pitched seven strong innings in getting the win for the club. Mark Grudzielanek went 3-for-5 with two runs scored and Patterson had a pair of RBI for the Cubs, while Moises Alou also added two hits and scored twice in the win.

Estes gave up just two runs and five hits while striking out five to pick up his third straight victory. The last time Estes won three straight decisions was from May 8 - June 21, 2001, when he won five straight.

Chicago will send 21-year-old righthander Carlos Zambrano to the mound this evening. Zambrano has lost two straight decisions, including a loss to St. Louis last week. The righty was hammered for eight hits and six runs over 7 1/3 innings, while fanning six and walking two.

Zambrano has registered a 1-1 mark with a 4.73 ERA against the Brewers in his career. The Venezuelan has given up eight hits and seven runs over 13 1/3 innings of action versus Milwaukee.

Patterson, the only player on the team with more than one triple (he has three of their seven), also leads the group in home runs (seven), RBI (30) and stolen bases (five), all while batting a healthy .309.

At .273 after 38 games, the Cubs have one of the highest team batting averages in the NL, however their 290 strikeouts also place them need the top of the category.

Chicago pitchers have generated an ERA of just 3.45, second-lowest in the league behind the Dodgers, and have struck out an NL-best 343 batters.