Had United earned a home match — which the club would have done by beating a Cincinnati team that was down to nine men in the regular season finale — the anxiety level about the major work-family dynamic would have been minimized.

But United drew Cincinnati on Oct. 6 and now must play Saturday at Toronto. The team will fly Thursday and not return until late Saturday.

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So to avoid any possible issues, Birnbaum and his wife, Jeanne, decided to induce labor Monday night. With the birth imminent, Birnbaum did not practice Tuesday. He will be given additional time off as needed before rejoining the squad in Toronto.

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“He is sensitive to what his job is and all that entails,” Coach Ben Olsen said. “Ultimately, he is having a child, so he has got to take care of that first. This was a good solution for him and his wife.”

Birnbaum is the latest in a wave of United players with new babies in recent months, joining Chris Seitz, Quincy Amarikwa, Earl Edwards Jr. and Ulises Segura. Lucas Rodriguez and Oniel Fisher are also on the father watch this fall.

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“It just seems like that’s always the timing when you’re the coach,” Olsen said, joking. “But it’s a wonderful day for him to start a family. We’ll get him some rest this week. It’s a pretty crazy week for your first baby.”

The early birth will allow Birnbaum, 28, to continue his ironman role. He has started every regular season match the past two seasons, logging every available minute in 2018 and all but 28 this year.

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He and Frédéric Brillant have formed a central defensive partnership that is on a five-match shutout streak. United (13-10-11) conceded the second-fewest goals in MLS (38), one behind Los Angeles FC.

>> United is putting extra emphasis this week on practicing penalty kicks, which would decide a playoff match if the score remains tied through 90 minutes of regulation and 30 minutes of extra time.

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Last year, a tiebreaker against the Columbus Crew ended United’s season in the first round at Audi Field.

Captain Wayne Rooney was among three D.C. players to fail in the tiebreaker.

“I know exactly what I want to do if it gets to that point,” he said. “Maybe a bit of redemption for missing last year.”

>> Midfielder Paul Arriola, who was to complete nine days of U.S. national team duty Tuesday against Canada in Toronto, will remain in Ontario all week and await the D.C. delegation’s arrival.

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Midfielder Júnior Moreno was scheduled to return to Washington on Tuesday after making two appearances for Venezuela. He entered in the 88th minute of a 4-1 victory against Bolivia on Friday and went the distance in a 2-0 win over Trinidad and Tobago on Monday.

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Olsen said he would not practice Wednesday.

Rodriguez logged 68 minutes in the Argentine under-23 national team’s 2-2 draw at Mexico. He was allowed to skip the second friendly between the countries and rejoin United in time for training early this week.

>> Bill Hamid is among three finalists for MLS goalkeeper of the year, an award he won in 2014. The Annandale native started all but one match, finished tied with Atlanta’s Brad Guzan for first in the league in shutouts (14) and was third in goals against average (1.12). The other finalists are New York City FC’s Sean Johnson and Minnesota United’s Vito Mannone.

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>>Jozy Altidore, Toronto FC’s star striker, is expected to practice to some extent this week after suffering a quadriceps injury in the regular season finale against Columbus and withdrawing from U.S. national team service.

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“We’ll prepare for them with Jozy,” Olsen said.

Hamid added, “We fully expect him to be ready.”

Altidore has posted 11 goals and seven assists in 22 appearances.

He did not play in either regular season meeting with United, a 0-0 draw in Toronto and 1-1 draw in Washington.

>> United is planning to practice in Toronto on Thursday and Friday; typically, for a close destination, the team does all its work in Washington before traveling.

“Smell that Toronto air a little bit,” Olsen said. “It’s nice. It’s a little sharper, it’s a little colder up there.”

For the first time this season, United will take a charter. For cost purposes, MLS allows teams to use charters on only four travel legs each regular season. There are no limits in the playoffs.