This just in: Hanley Ramirez is hitting the ball hard

As hard as Yasiel Puig is hitting baseballs these days, Hanley Ramirez is hitting them even harder.

Ramirez’s home run Tuesday night against the San Francisco Giants was clocked at 115.1 mph, according to ESPN Home Run Tracker. The ball traveled from Ramirez’s bat to the left-field foul pole in 2.97 seconds, the fastest any home run has cleared the field of play in the major leagues this season.

The blast wasn’t even Ramirez’s hardest-hit home run of the season. That distinction falls to a 116.7-mph screamer he hit three days earlier in San Diego. Ramirez also hit a line-drive home run at Yankee Stadium that was clocked at 112.1 mph.

Puig’s hardest-hit home run was his first, a 107.9-mph rocket against the San Diego Padres on June 4.

Ramirez said his left shoulder is feeling stronger. He underwent a major operation on the shoulder near the end of the 2011 season.

“It’s getting looser,� he said.

Ramirez said the last time he felt this comfortable at the plate was in 2009, when he won the National League batting title.

“When you have that confidence, when you don’t have anything holding you back, when you don’t have any pain, you’re going to produce on the field,� Ramirez said. “It feels good right now. I have to keep doing my shoulder program. I have to stay on top of it.�

Kemp sits

Only a day after being reinstated from the disabled list, Matt Kemp was back out of the Dodgers’ lineup.

Kemp said there was nothing wrong with him physically and Manager Don Mattingly later said the same. But Mattingly said he didn’t want to take any chances with Kemp’s right hamstring, which sidelined the two-time All-Star for almost a month.

Mattingly said he plans to ease Kemp back into the lineup the way he did Ramirez earlier in the month. Mattingly pointed out that before starting in center field for the Dodgers on Tuesday, Kemp played in each of the three previous days with triple-A Albuquerque.

Shuffling the bullpen

After a ninth-inning meltdown on Tuesday night, Brandon League will no longer be a late-inning option in close games, Mattingly said.

The job of pitching the eighth inning and setting up closer Kenley Jansen will fall to Ronald Belisario, who hasn’t been charged with any runs in his last three appearances. The Dodgers will mix and match in the seventh inning, with left-hander Paco Rodriguez and right-hander Peter Moylan among Mattingly’s options.

As for League, Mattingly plans to use him in low-pressure situations to “start piecing him back together.� The Dodgers believe the former closer’s problems stem from opening up his front shoulder early, which makes his pitches easier to see for hitters.

Short hops

The Dodgers are among the teams that have talked to the Miami Marlins about starting pitcher Ricky Nolasco, according to people familiar with the situation. The San Francisco Giants and Baltimore Orioles are also said to be interested in Nolasco. … The College World Series champion UCLA baseball team will be recognized in a pregame ceremony Thursday at Dodger Stadium. … The first 50,000 at the ballpark Thursday will receive a Sandy Koufax bobblehead doll.

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Twitter: @dylanohernandez