A few weeks ago, they were cast off and washed up. Brad Penny, Jose Contreras, John Smoltz and Vicente Padilla, totally available to any team that wanted them.

All they really needed was a place to pitch — in the National League, that is.

Bounced out of the AL, the former stars are suddenly turning up aces in the middle of the pennant race.

“Coming into September is a tough time to come over to a new team,” said Penny, signed by San Francisco on Aug. 31. “They’ve busted their butts to get here, where they’re at in the season. I’m here to help. They’ve all accepted me. It’s been fun.”

Same goes for Smoltz and St. Louis, Contreras and Colorado, and Padilla and the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Along with Penny, the quartet is 6-1 overall with a 2.13 ERA for their new clubs. Those same four went a combined 22-32 with a 5.64 ERA for AL contenders earlier this season.

Why the dramatic turnarounds? Dodgers manager Joe Torre offered several reasons Tuesday night.

“Shorter lineup,” he said. “You get one less guy. And really, in a lot of cases, two less guys, because you can pitch a lot more carefully to the eighth-place hitter.”

Some of those pitchers benefit from facing a hitter for the first time, Torre said.

“Plus, you know when someone gets traded to a pennant contender, they just seem to find something that they didn’t have a month ago,” he said. “If you are not in a pennant race, all of a sudden the fatigue sets in. That’s certainly all about your mind ruling your body.”

Cliff Lee also switched sides and made an immediate impact. The reigning AL Cy Young winner was highly coveted, and won his first five starts for the World Series champion Philadelphia Phillies after they traded four minor leaguers to Cleveland on July 31.

Padilla, however, wasn’t in such great demand. The former All-Star got cut loose by Texas in mid-August with an 8-6 record and a 4.92 ERA, and hardly was the most popular person in the Rangers clubhouse. His penchant for hitting opposing batters didn’t endear him to teammates, either.

“We never thought he wouldn’t do OK,” Texas manager Ron Washington said Monday. “He’s a good pitcher. We knew that whoever picked him up, he would continue to win.”

“He’s got a good arm, the Dodgers picked up a pretty good pitcher,” he said.

Smoltz and Penny both signed with Boston in the offseason while recovering from shoulder trouble. They never quite got into a rhythm, and the Red Sox released them after they each got hammered by the New York Yankees.

Back in the familiar NL, Smoltz and Penny settled in nicely.

“It ended good in Boston. They did me a favor,” Penny said Monday. “All those guys I wish them the best. I didn’t have one bad experience with any of those people.”

Penny joined a Giants rotation that includes Cy Young winners Tim Lincecum and Barry Zito, All-Star Matt Cain and Jonathan Sanchez, who pitched a no-hitter this year. Big Randy Johnson also is on the team as it chases Colorado for the wild-card spot.

“Looking at this staff, there’s not a team that’s going to want to face this team in the playoffs,” Penny said. “On this staff, I’m probably a No. 4 or 5 starter.”

Amended Giants manager Bruce Bochy: “He’s not a fifth starter, trust me. This guy’s pitched in big games and had a great career. He’s a No. 1-type pitcher.”

Smoltz and Padilla signed with their new teams on Aug. 19. Going into Smoltz’s start Tuesday night at Milwaukee, the Cardinals and Dodgers were tied for the best record in the NL.

Contreras led the AL with 13 losses when the Chicago White Sox traded him to the Rockies on Aug. 31 for a minor leaguer and cash. Once an October ace, the 37-year-old righty started out with 6 2-3 winning innings against Atlanta.

“It was very important to make an impression on my teammates and also because I struggled in Chicago,” he said.

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