Burns, Alvarez recalled

ARLINGTON, Texas — With both halves of the A’s leadoff platoon — Sam Fuld and Craig Gentry —in funks at the plate, the team brought up speedy rookie outfielder Billy Burns on Saturday.

In addition, Oakland re- called reliever R.J. Alvarez and placed left-hander Eric O’Flaherty on the disabled list with shoulder soreness.

Outfielder Cody Ross, signed to a minor-league deal when Coco Crisp had elbow surgery, was designated for assignment after hitting .091 in nine games with the A’s.

With Crisp expected back from the DL next week, Burns’ stint with the A’s might be short, but Fuld is in a 1for-24 slide and Gentry is 2-for-33 for the season. Burns had two hits and scored two runs Saturday.

Fuld manages his diabetes extremely well, and manager Bob Melvin said Fuld wouldn’t want to use it as an excuse. But Melvin added, “He deals with a pretty tough illness. … A little bit of a rest helps him out. It could have to do with him being out there too much. He’ll never say that.”

O’Flaherty wasn’t available for one game against Houston last week because of shoulder trouble. He is 0-2 with an 11.57 ERA. Melvin said that O’Flaherty had returned to the Bay Area to see team doctors.

With O’Flaherty out, the A’s are down to one left-hander, struggling Fernando Abad, in the bullpen, and the team is expected to be on the lookout for bullpen help from outside the organization. Briefly: Josh Reddick had three hits, including a threerun homer, and four RBIs. He has hit safely in a career-high 10 straight games. … Billy Butler is hitless in his past 20 at-bats, a career high.